How Many Canadians Actually Hit That $109,000 TFSA Milestone?

By building a portfolio of high-quality TSX stocks, you can set yourself up to cover the gap between your actual TFSA balance and the maximum possible you can hold in it.

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Key Points
  • Many Canadians haven’t maxed their TFSA — eligible holders could have $109,000 of room, yet the average balance is ~$31,800 and only an estimated ~8.5% (~1.6M people) may be fully maxed.
  • Because TFSA growth is tax‑free, investing in dividend and growth stocks is a practical way to close the contribution gap and build long‑term wealth.
  • Brookfield Renewable Partners (BEP.UN) is a suggested TFSA holding — a $45.85 share price and ~4.6–4.7% yield from a large global renewable‑power platform that offers income plus long‑term growth.

The Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) is a blessing for Canadians that has been around since 2009. Ever since its inception, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has been increasing the contribution limit each year. If you:

  1. Were 18 in 2009,
  2. Never lived abroad full time, and
  3. Made no TFSA contributions

You might have $109,000 of contribution room in a TFSA. That is the cumulative contribution room the TFSA has after the $7,000 update in 2026. If you contributed regularly, you would have had that amount in your TFSA today, generating tax-free returns.

Considering that there are no taxes on returns generated in a TFSA, early-withdrawal charges, or taxes on withdrawals, you might expect every Canadian to be maxxing out their TFSAs. You will be surprised to learn that the number is surprisingly low.

engineer at wind farm

Source: Getty Images

How many Canadians actually hit $109,000?

There is no data showing exactly how many Canadians have contributed $109,000 to their TFSAs. However, we can make a fair estimation because we know that there are 19,322,000 unique TFSA users. According to some banks, around 8.5% of their clients maximize contributions to their TFSAs. If what the banks say is true, then around 1.6 million Canadians have maxed out their TFSAs.

According to the latest CRA statistics, the average fair market value per individual is around $31,800. If your TFSA balance is closer to the average than the total, you are not alone. With smart and disciplined investments over the years, you can cover the gap and set yourself up for significant wealth growth using the TFSA. One of the best ways to go about it is through investing in a portfolio of stocks that offer sizeable returns through dividends and long-term capital appreciation. To this end, Brookfield Renewable Partners (TSX:BEP.UN) can be an excellent stock to consider.

Brookfield Renewable Partners

Brookfield Renewable is a $31.2 billion market cap subsidiary of Brookfield Corp., which is a globally diversified alternative asset manager. Brookfield Renewable Partners itself is one of the largest publicly traded platforms worldwide for renewable power and sustainable solutions. Brookfield owns and operates renewable power assets like solar, wind, hydro, distributed energy, and storage assets throughout the world.

Brookfield Renewable is leveraging the growing shift toward cleaner and greener energy as the world slowly phases out reliance on fossil fuels. The demand for power keeps rising, especially with industrial growth and the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the data centres and other infrastructure it needs to run. While there is still time until the world successfully moves to green energy, Brookfield is setting itself up for success in a cleaner future for the energy sector.

Foolish takeaway

Brookfield Renewable Partners is a well-run subsidiary of a well-capitalized parent company that is here to stay. TFSA investors seeking the $109,000 milestone for their TFSAs should consider building slowly toward it through growth and income. Brookfield Renewable stock offers plenty of both.

As of this writing, Brookfield Renewable stock trades for $45.85 per share and pays investors US$0.39 per share each quarter, translating to a roughly 4.6%–4.7% annualized dividend yield that you can lock into your self-directed portfolio today. It looks like an excellent investment for Canadians seeking long-term growth, tax-free income, and exposure to an industry that will see demand only grow in the coming decades.

Fool contributor Adam Othman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Brookfield Renewable Partners. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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