The Ideal Canadian Stocks to Buy and Hold Forever in a TFSA

If you use your TFSA wisely, you could save over $185,000 in tax! Here are the ideal stocks to help maximize your long-term tax-free gains.

| More on:
Key Points
  • The TFSA’s tax‑free compounding can massively boost wealth — e.g., $109,000 at 15% for 15 years grows to ~ $886,939, avoiding roughly $186,700 in taxes.
  • Two TFSA stock ideas: Constellation Software — a deeply entrenched software compounder down ~50% with ~8% free‑cash‑flow yield; Aritzia — a fast‑growing apparel brand expanding in the U.S. with strong recent revenue and profit gains.
  • Use your TFSA to let high‑quality, long‑run winners multiply tax‑free — prioritize durable businesses and patience to maximize after‑tax returns.

The Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) is the ideal place to buy and hold stocks for years and decades. You don’t pay any tax on the income that you earn inside the account. This can have a huge effect on your wealth given decades to compound.

TFSA (Tax-Free Savings Account) on wooden blocks and Canadian one hundred dollar bills.

Source: Getty Images

Save big on tax by letting your winners multiply in your TFSA

When you think long term, you aren’t thinking about a quick 20% gain on your investments. Inside your TFSA, you are smart to look for stocks that multiply your wealth. You don’t want to have to pay any tax on a capital gain that could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Say you found a mix of stocks that could compound $109,000 (the total combined contribution for someone who was 18 or older in 2009) of your TFSA cash at a 15% compounded rate for 15 years. Your $109,000 contribution would be worth $886,939 at the end of that period. That is a $777,939 capital gain!

If that investment wasn’t in your TFSA, you could be owing the Canada Revenue Agency as much as $186,705 dollars in tax! Since it is in your TFSA, all that cash stays with you. The highest TFSA benefit comes from letting winners run for long periods of time.

If you are looking for some long-term winners for your TFSA, here are two stock ideas.

Constellation Software: Down, but a good bargain here

Constellation Software (TSX:CSU) might be a hard stock to consider buying right now. It is down 20% in 2026 and 50% over the past year. It certainly doesn’t look like a winner today. However, even after its collapse, it is still up 13,997% (a 28% compounded annual growth rate) over the past 20 years

Today, after the pullback, this TFSA stock looks very attractive given that its valuation has been clipped in half. You can buy this stock at the same growth rate (around 15%), but half the price.

The main reason for its collapse is concerns around AI disruption and slowing growth. Certainly, it is a concern to monitor. Yet, for an incumbent, entrenched software supplier, AI is likely to be a net benefit, rather than a detraction.

Constellation is broadly using AI across its organization to improve business operations and efficiency. Likewise, it is creating new AI services that it is presenting to its customers.

This is a company that grew revenues by 15% and cash from operations by 24% in 2025. It sure doesn’t look like the business model is broken. You can pick up this TFSA stock with an 8% free cash flow yield. It is isn’t often you can find such a high-quality business at such a great valuation.

Aritzia: A growing TFSA stock you don’t want to miss

While it may take some time for the market to regain interest in Constellation, one growth stock that is working today is Aritzia (TSX:ATZ). This company has been on a tear over the past few years. Its stock is up 22% in 2026, 140% in the past year, and 350% in the past five years (a 35% CAGR).

Aritzia is enjoying substantial success as it expands its brand of clothing from Canada into the U.S. U.S. revenues have already eclipsed Canadian sales. The exciting part is that it still has room to more than double its store count in the United States. Not to forget that it has not even started expanding internationally.

The apparel retailer just announced fiscal 2026-year-end results. Revenues increased 35% and net income per share soared 79.8%! It is targeting over 19% revenue growth and strong margin improvements in fiscal 2027!

While Aritzia is no longer a cheap stock today, it has strong momentum guiding the stock higher. If you want a stock with a long growth runway for your TFSA, Aritzia is the perfect bet.

Fool contributor Robin Brown has positions in Aritzia and Constellation Software. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Aritzia. The Motley Fool recommends Constellation Software. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

More on Retirement

A glass jar resting on its side with Canadian banknotes and change inside.
Retirement

The TFSA Balance You’ll Probably Need to Retire in Canada

Most Canadians will never hit $1 million in retirement savings. But with the right TFSA strategy, you may not need…

Read more »

drinker sniffs wine in a glass
Stocks for Beginners

How Splitting $30,000 Across Three TSX Stocks Could Generate $2,000 in Annual Dividends

These three TSX stocks could turn a $30,000 investment into nearly $2,000 in annual dividends.

Read more »

shopper checks her receipt
Stocks for Beginners

The Average Canadian TFSA Balance at 60 Reveals Something Important

The average TFSA at 60 is modest, showing the account’s results depend heavily on what you invest in, not just…

Read more »

a person watches a downward arrow crash through the floor
Dividend Stocks

5 TSX Dividend Stocks I’d Move Quickly to Buy on Any Market Pullback

These TSX dividend stocks offer strong businesses, strong cash flow, and long-term appeal on any market pullback.

Read more »

Piggy bank with word TFSA for tax-free savings accounts.
Retirement

This Is the TFSA Balance You’ll Likely Need to Retire Comfortably in Canada

Here's how much an investor needs to accumulate in a TFSA to retire comfortably off it alone.

Read more »

ETF stands for Exchange Traded Fund
Stocks for Beginners

2 Canadian ETFs I’d Lock Into a TFSA and Never Touch

These 2 Canadian ETFs have the qualities long-term TFSA investors can comfortably hold through almost any market cycle.

Read more »

Two seniors walk in the forest
Dividend Stocks

The Best Canadian Stocks to Buy and Hold Forever in a TFSA

These stocks have safe and growing earnings and in turn, dividend payments, making them two of the best stocks to…

Read more »

RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan) on wooden blocks and Canadian one hundred dollar bills.
Dividend Stocks

2 Dividend Stocks I’d be Comfortable Holding in an RRSP Indefinitely

The two top RRSP stocks for long-term wealth creation include TD Bank and CNR Rail, the leaders of their respective…

Read more »