5 TSX Stocks to Buy for a Calm, Boring, Winning Portfolio

These five “boring” TSX stocks focus on essentials and recurring demand, which can make them useful holds in 2026.

Amy Legate-Wolfe

Author Bio Amy became interested in investing in 2018 after having her first daughter. After receiving a masters degree in journalism from Western University, she became frustrated that the finance industry remained a confusing place for Canadians like her: new parents, millennials, and other young people who needed to understand their finances. Now, Amy focuses on tech companies and renewable energy for growth opportunities, coupling that with long-term investing strategies and equities. She also provides investors with a daily newsletter, Canada Stock Digest, for daily market updates. Her work can also be found at Canada's National Observer, where she writes on the business side of climate action. Before joining Motley Fool Canada, Amy wrote for major news organizations including HuffPost, CTVNews.ca, and CBC. When she’s not researching investing strategies, Amy’s time is pretty much monopolized by her two wild daughters, but in what little spare time she has she loves to do yoga, go on walks with her dog, and travel with her husband. Social Media Follow Amy on LinkedIn and Canada Stock Digest. Favorite Investment Quote “October: This is one of the particularly dangerous months to speculate in stocks. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February.” – Mark Twain

Published April 22, 7:00 pm EDT

Key Points

Boring stocks can win for years because people keep buying the basics in any economy.
Weston, Hydro One, and Canadian Utilities offer steady demand and dividends, even if some look fully valued.
Thomson Reuters and Chartwell add recurring revenue and demographic tailwinds, with execution and valuation as the main risks.

Some TSX stocks are exciting for about five minutes. Calm, boring stocks can stay useful for years. That’s the point of a winning portfolio. You want businesses people rely on in good markets, bad markets, and the messy middle. In 2026, with rate hopes still shifting and headlines changing by the hour, that kind of steadiness looks a lot more attractive than the latest hot trade.

frustrated shopper at grocery store — Source: Getty Images

WN

George Weston (TSX: WN) is about as boring as a giant grocery and real estate empire can get, and that’s a compliment. It owns Loblaw and a major stake in Choice Properties, so it gives investors exposure to food retail, pharmacies, and necessity-based real estate in one package.

In its fourth quarter of 2025, revenue climbed to $16.5 billion, while adjusted diluted net earnings per share (EPS) rose 15.2% to $1.21. Over the last year, Weston also kept buying back shares, which adds another layer of shareholder support. The catch is valuation. The TSX stock no longer looks cheap after its run, but the business still fits a calm portfolio as an essential provider.

H

Hydro One (TSX: H) runs Ontario’s electricity transmission and distribution network, which gives it a regulated business model and steady demand. Its fourth quarter of 2025 showed basic EPS of $0.39, up from $0.33 a year earlier. The TSX stock invested $939 million in the quarter while putting $1.3 billion of assets into service.

Hydro One keeps getting a longer runway as Ontario adds load, upgrades aging infrastructure, and connects more customers and generation. The downside is that investors already know it’s dependable. At roughly 26 times earnings, it isn’t exactly hiding in the bargain bin. Still, for a boring portfolio, dependable often beats cheap.

CU

Canadian Utilities (TSX: CU) operates utilities and energy infrastructure and has built its reputation on consistency. Its 2025 adjusted earnings came in at $658 million, or $2.42 per share, up from $647 million, or $2.38 per share, in 2024. It also raised its dividend again in January 2026, extending one of the longest dividend-growth streaks in Canada.

That alone will grab the attention of investors who want boring in the best way. The risk is that growth won’t blow anyone away, and utilities can get pinched by regulation and big capital needs. Even so, a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) around 19 looks fairly reasonable for a business built around stability.

TRI

Thomson Reuters (TSX: TRI) earns its place here. The TSX stock sells legal, tax, compliance, and professional information tools that customers tend to keep using year after year. In 2025, revenue reached US$7.5 billion, up 3%, with organic revenue growth of 7%. Its big growth engines kept expanding, and management has leaned harder into artificial intelligence (AI) products without turning the whole business into a speculative bet.

That’s a nice middle ground. Investors get a sticky, high-margin company with real recurring revenue, not just AI buzzwords. The main risk is price. Even after a pullback, TRI still trades at a premium. But for long-term investors, quality and recurring revenue can be worth paying for.

CSH

Chartwell Retirement Residences (TSX: CSH.UN) rounds out the list with a different kind of boring: demographics. Canada is aging, and demand for retirement living isn’t going away. Chartwell’s fourth quarter showed property revenue up 33.8%, while funds from operations (FFO) per unit rose to $0.26 from $0.21.

For full-year 2025, FFO climbed 40.8% to $278 million, same-property occupancy rose to 92.8%, and the trust boosted its monthly distribution to $0.052 per unit. That’s a strong mix of recovery and income. Of course, senior housing still depends on operating execution, occupancy, and cost control, so it isn’t risk free. But when a quiet business gets help from a long demographic tailwind, boring can start looking pretty smart.

Bottom line

A calm, boring, winning portfolio doesn’t need drama. It needs businesses that sell essentials, grow steadily, and avoid nasty surprises. George Weston, Hydro One, Canadian Utilities, Thomson Reuters, and Chartwell all bring a version of that formula. None of these TSX stocks look like a lottery ticket, yet that’s exactly why they stand out. When the goal is building wealth without losing sleep, boring can do a very beautiful job.