Generational Wealth: 2 Canadian Stocks to Get You There

Generational wealth can start with two long-term compounders like Brookfield and Constellation Software that think in decades, not headlines.

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 June 12, 3:30 pm EDT

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Key Points

Brookfield grows by investing in global real assets and credit, then buying and selling through market cycles.
Constellation compounds by repeatedly acquiring sticky niche software businesses with disciplined capital allocation.
Both can build long-run wealth, but Brookfield relies on financing conditions and Constellation’s valuation is demanding.

Building wealth across generations starts small. Most investors picture generational wealth as something reserved for families with private offices, huge inheritances, and complicated trusts. But regular Canadians can build it too. The path usually looks far less glamorous. It starts with owning exceptional businesses for a very long time, letting earnings compound, and avoiding the urge to trade every scary headline.

That’s where Brookfield (TSX: BN) and Constellation Software (TSX: CSU) stand out. They don’t offer the same story. One owns and manages real assets around the world. The other buys and grows niche software businesses. Yet each company thinks in decades, not quarters. That mindset can help investors build wealth that lasts beyond one market cycle.

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BN

The world needs capital for almost everything. Power grids need upgrades. Data centres need land, electricity, cooling, and infrastructure. Cities need housing. Companies need private credit. Governments need partners for projects they can’t fund alone. Brookfield sits in the middle of those needs.

The company invests across infrastructure, renewable power, real estate, insurance, credit, and private equity. That gives investors exposure to assets most people can’t buy on their own. It also gives Brookfield many ways to grow. When public markets panic, Brookfield can buy. When private markets recover, it can sell. When rates move lower, asset values can improve.

The latest quarter showed the engine still works. Brookfield reported distributable earnings of US$1.6 billion in the first quarter of 2026. Management also repurchased more than US$1 billion of Brookfield and Brookfield Asset Management shares during market volatility. That shows confidence, and it also signals management saw value in its own stock.

Brookfield isn’t risk-free, though. Its businesses rely on financing, investor demand, and global deal activity. However, Brookfield has multiple levers to pull, and few Canadian companies match its global reach. And with a nice little 0.6% dividend yield and trading at 1.4 times earnings, it’s a solid choice on the TSX today.

CSU

Constellation Software offers a different road to long-term wealth. It buys vertical market software companies that serve specific industries. These businesses often look boring from the outside. That’s the point. A small software provider serving dentists, transit agencies, schools, or local governments can produce sticky revenue because customers don’t switch systems casually.

Constellation stock’s genius comes from repetition. It buys many small businesses, gives them discipline, and lets strong managers keep running them. Then it repeats the process again and again. That playbook has made it one of Canada’s best compounders. It also keeps the focus on cash, discipline, and smart capital allocation, rather than splashy promises.

The most recent quarter kept that story alive. Constellation stock reported revenue of US$3.2 billion for the first quarter of 2026, up 20% from the year before. Organic growth reached 6%, though currency reduced that figure to 2% on an adjusted basis. Acquisitions still drive much of the growth, but the company continues to prove it can find and absorb new businesses.

The risk comes from valuation and scale. Constellation already trades at a premium at 60 times earnings at writing, because investors know the story. The bigger it gets, the harder it may become to find enough attractive deals to move the needle. Software also faces questions from artificial intelligence, even though many of Constellation’s niche markets may prove resilient.

Bottom line

All said, generational wealth rarely comes from chasing the cheapest stock. It often comes from owning businesses that allocate capital better than almost anyone else. Brookfield and Constellation stock both fit that idea.

Investors don’t need to bet the whole portfolio on either one, but could certainly have them as core holdings. Add regular contributions and years of patience, and these two stocks could help turn today’s savings into tomorrow’s family advantage. That’s the kind of foundation future generations may thank you for.