The Canadian stock market continues to hover near record highs despite heightened volatility driven by geopolitical tensions, rising energy costs, and inflation fears. This resilience suggests that underlying market fundamentals are intact and investors’ sentiment remains cautiously optimistic. In this environment, I plan to load up on a high-quality growth stock that could deliver above-average returns in 2026 and beyond.
Notably, I’ll focus on a rapidly growing company with durable competitive advantages and solid long-term prospects. Such a company is more likely to deliver strong share price appreciation over time.
Against this background, here is one Canadian stock I plan to load up on in 2026.
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A top-quality growth stock
While the TSX has several high-quality stocks, MDA Space (TSX: MDA) is the one I’ll load up on in 2026 to capitalize on the expanding space and defence industry. MDA Space is a space technology company operating across three core segments, including Satellite Systems, Robotics & Space Operations, and Geointelligence. This gives the company a diversified operational footprint. Its customer base spans civil agencies, commercial enterprises, and defence and national security organizations, helping mitigate reliance on a single revenue stream while positioning the business to benefit from multiple long-term demand drivers.
Supporting MDA Space’s growth outlook is the accelerating demand for space-enabled connectivity. As global data consumption rises and remote regions require reliable communication infrastructure, satellite deployment is expected to increase materially. This trend is likely to support the company’s satellite systems business. At the same time, rising investment in space exploration, both from governments and private-sector players, creates additional opportunities.
Further, the strategic importance of space as a military domain further strengthens the investment case. Space is increasingly viewed as a critical layer of modern defence architecture, complementing traditional air, land, and sea capabilities. This shift is driving sustained spending on space-based surveillance, intelligence, and communications systems, areas where MDA Space already has established capabilities.
Thanks to the solid demand trends, MDA Space is consistently delivering strong revenue and profitability growth. Moreover, a robust backlog provides forward revenue visibility, supporting MDA Space’s growth outlook.
MDA Space to sustain momentum
MDA Space is well-positioned to sustain the solid momentum in its business through investments in next-generation space technologies and services. The company’s focus on expanding its capabilities while increasing its exposure to high-demand markets and geographies augurs well for growth.
The space technology company’s backlog stood at about $4 billion at the end of 2025. This backlog provides strong revenue visibility and is expected to convert into meaningful top-line growth over the coming quarters.
Looking further ahead, MDA Space’s growth pipeline is substantial, with roughly $40 billion in cumulative opportunities over the next five years. Importantly, this pipeline is well balanced across government, defence, and commercial segments. This diversification helps mitigate concentration risk while allowing the company to benefit from multiple demand drivers, including national security priorities, satellite infrastructure expansion, and commercial space applications.
Geographically, the opportunity set is equally diversified. While Canada and the U.S. remain core markets, the company is seeing increasing traction in Europe and emerging regions such as Southeast Asia. This broad geographic footprint expands revenue potential and reduces reliance on any single market, contributing to more stable and resilient growth.
Overall, MDA Space appears well-positioned to capitalize on strong industry demand and rising global investment in space. Its proven technology, diversified revenue streams, and a robust pipeline support a favourable long-term outlook. These factors suggest that MDA Space is set to deliver significant returns in the long run.
