A trillion dollars is a big reason investors may want to look beyond the usual TSX winners before 2026 ends.
That is the size of Canada’s new electricity strategy, which reported that the federal plan aims to double the country’s electricity grid capacity by 2050. The goal is to support rising demand from industrial growth, electric vehicles (EV), and artificial intelligence (AI) data centres.
The Canada Energy Regulator sees the same pressure building. In its 2026 long-term outlook, electricity demand grows significantly across all scenarios, ranging from a 26% to 85% increase from 2023 to 2050. In its higher scenario, data centre load growth alone makes up about 100 terawatt-hours, or roughly a quarter, of projected end-use electricity demand growth.
But that’s only half of the story. Statistics Canada reported that food purchased from stores rose 4.3% year over year in May 2026, marking the 16th straight month that grocery inflation outpaced headline inflation. Fresh vegetables jumped 9%, while gasoline prices rose 33.2%. So investors have two powerful themes heading into the back half of 2026. Canada needs more electricity. Consumers need more value. And there are two TSX stocks that could benefit from those pressures in very different ways.
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Capital Power
Capital Power (TSX: CPX) owns and operates power-generation assets across North America, including natural gas, renewables, and battery energy storage. In the first quarter of 2026, Capital Power extended its Arlington Valley summer tolling agreement through 2038. The deal adds seven years of contracted revenue and is expected to add about US$70 million in incremental annual capacity payments by 2032 compared with 2025.
The latest numbers were mixed, but useful. Capital Power generated adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $404 million in the first quarter, up from $367 million a year earlier. Adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) fell to $154 million from $218 million, mainly reflecting higher costs, but management maintained 2026 annual guidance for adjusted EBITDA of $1.565 billion to $1.765 billion and AFFO of $890 million to $1 billion.
The dividend also gives investors a reason to wait. Capital Power declared a quarterly common-share dividend of $0.69 for the second quarter of 2026, with the stock recently yielding about 3.8%. So if investors keep focusing on AI software while ignoring the power behind it, Capital Power could be one of the TSX names that surprises before year-end.
Dollarama
Dollarama (TSX: DOL) is not a cheap stock in the traditional sense. It recently traded around 38 times trailing earnings, which is a demanding valuation for any retailer. But sometimes a premium stock can still surprise investors if the business keeps growing faster than expected.
Dollarama’s value proposition is simple. It sells low-cost everyday goods across Canada and is expanding internationally through Australia and Dollarcity in Latin America. The latest results show the strength. In the first quarter of fiscal 2027, Dollarama’s sales rose 21.4% to $1.9 billion. Comparable store sales in Canada rose 5.6%, driven by a 3.5% increase in transactions and a 2% increase in average transaction size.
Dollarama also opened 28 net new stores in Canada during the quarter, while its Canadian store count rose from 1,638 a year earlier to 1,719. Australia contributed $192.8 million in sales from 410 stores, giving the company a new international growth lever.
The dividend isn’t all that exciting, as Dollarama stock declared a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share in June 2026 for a 0.24% yield, so this is not a passive-income pick. The return case is about earnings growth, store expansion, buybacks, and the durability of the value-retail model. When grocery bills stay high and shoppers hunt for small savings, Dollarama stock can keep gaining wallet share.
Bottom line
Capital Power and Dollarama stock are very different companies, but they share one useful trait. Both are tied to problems that are not going away soon. Canada needs more power, and Canadians need more value.
Investors looking for TSX stocks that could surprise before 2026 ends may want both on their watch list while those trends continue to build.
