Forty-five billion cubic feet of additional natural gas demand could hit North America every day by 2035. Supplying even part of that enormous increase will require pipelines that already cross the continent, which could turn today’s infrastructure into decades of growing retirement income.
That opportunity won’t depend on guessing next year’s gas price. Pipeline companies mainly earn by transporting energy under regulated rates or long-term contracts, giving investors a steadier way to benefit as power plants, liquefied natural gas facilities, factories, and data centres consume more fuel.
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What retirement income needs
A retirement stock should keep generating cash through recessions, inflation, and changing commodity markets. It also needs enough growth to raise its payout, since a dividend frozen for 20 years can slowly lose its fight with groceries.
Those requirements make predictable earnings more valuable than an enormous starting yield. Among Canadian dividend stocks, few businesses combine scale, long contracts, and a visible growth pipeline as effectively as TC Energy (TSX:TRP).
A continent-sized network
TRP transports natural gas across Canada, the United States, and Mexico, while also owning power-generation assets and an interest in Bruce Power. Its systems connect major producing regions with utilities, industrial customers, LNG terminals, and power plants that need reliable fuel every day.
Approximately 98% of comparable earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) come from regulated assets or long-term take-or-pay contracts. Customers generally pay for reserved capacity, giving TRP stock dependable cash flow without requiring commodity prices to cooperate.
That business model produced $3.1 billion in comparable EBITDA during the first quarter, up 14% from the previous year. Canadian pipeline deliveries set records, while average flows across the company’s U.S. network rose 5%.
A power opportunity
Those record volumes may only mark the beginning. AI data centres, new manufacturing plants, electrification, and LNG exports all require reliable power, while natural gas can supply electricity when renewable generation falls short.
TRP recently approved the US$1.5 billion Appalachia Supply Project, which could transport up to 800 million cubic feet of gas per day to new power generation. The expansion uses its existing Columbia Gas corridor, helping the company pursue growth without building an entirely new network from scratch.
That project forms part of a $23 billion secured capital program stretching through 2031. As TRP places those assets into service, contracted earnings could support both the balance sheet and the dividend that investors plan to spend decades from now.
A dividend for decades
TRP stock increased its dividend for the 26th consecutive year in 2026. The quarterly payment now sits at $0.88 per share, or $3.51 annually, while management targets future dividend growth of 3% to 5%. Yet there’s even better news.
The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for TRP stock is 12% for shares over the last five years, and 2.1% for dividends. Today, with a dividend yield at 3.6%, you could start investing and then reinvest to let income compound with returns for decades! In fact, here’s what that might look like over the next five years.
| YEAR | PROJECTED SHARE PRICE | SHARE-PRICE CAGR | PROJECTED ANNUAL DIVIDEND | DIVIDEND CAGR | DIVIDENDS REINVESTED | SHARES AFTER REINVESTMENT | PROJECTED VALUE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting investment | $97.47 | 11.95% | $3.51 | 2.06% | — | 71.00 | $6,920.37 |
| Year 1 | $109.11 | 11.95% | $3.58 | 2.06% | $255.86 | 73.45 | $8,014.02 |
| Year 2 | $122.15 | 11.95% | $3.66 | 2.06% | $269.81 | 75.75 | $9,252.88 |
| Year 3 | $136.74 | 11.95% | $3.73 | 2.06% | $283.70 | 77.92 | $10,654.23 |
| Year 4 | $153.08 | 11.95% | $3.81 | 2.06% | $297.52 | 79.94 | $12,237.42 |
| Year 5 | $171.36 | 11.95% | $3.89 | 2.06% | $311.26 | 81.84 | $14,024.08 |
Foolish takeaway
Now this doesn’t mean TRP stock is perfect. It carries substantial debt and must complete expensive projects on time and within budget. Regulatory delays, higher construction costs, or weaker-than-expected gas demand could slow growth.
Those risks mean I wouldn’t literally place every retirement dollar into one company. Still, TRP stock has the predictable earnings and long growth runway I’d want anchoring a diversified collection of Canadian blue-chip stocks.
In short, TRP stock owns infrastructure that North America may need more of each year as data centres, LNG terminals, utilities, and factories increase demand. Its 26-year dividend-growth record gives investors income today, while the $23 billion capital program could keep that retirement paycheque climbing well into the next decade. All while investors reinvest for years to come.
