Fifty-two annual pay raises can outlast an entire career. One Canadian company has increased its dividend every year since 1973, surviving recessions, inflation shocks, market crashes, and enough interest-rate cycles to exhaust even the most enthusiastic economist.
That history becomes especially valuable in retirement, when income may need to last another 20 or 30 years. A payment that never grows can slowly lose purchasing power, which means retirees need reliability today and enough growth to keep tomorrow’s grocery bill from winning.
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What that stock needs
The ideal retirement holding should serve captive customers who can’t easily walk away, generate predictable cash flow, and reinvest capital without gambling the dividend. It should also operate across several regions, since even the strongest Canadian dividend stocks can struggle when one local economy or regulator becomes less cooperative.
No stock should literally become every investor’s entire portfolio. However, if I had to select one company capable of carrying a much larger retirement position, I’d choose Fortis (TSX: FTS).
A necessity
Fortis stock owns nine regulated electricity and natural gas utilities across Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean. Its networks serve 3.5 million customers who continue needing heat and electricity through booming markets, recessions, and ordinary Tuesday mornings.
Those utilities earn regulated returns on the infrastructure they operate. Fortis stock can therefore invest in transmission lines, substations, and distribution systems, then grow earnings as regulators add those investments to its rate base.
The growth plan
Fortis stock plans to invest $28.8 billion between 2026 and 2030. Management expects that spending to expand its rate base from $42.4 billion in 2025 to $57.9 billion by 2030, representing annual growth of roughly 7%.
Population growth, electrification, grid upgrades, and new data centres could create opportunities beyond that plan. Those customers need enormous amounts of dependable power, giving Fortis stock another reason to strengthen and expand the networks already generating regulated income.
The company invested $1.4 billion during the first quarter alone, while net earnings reached $501 million. That spending shows Fortis stock actively building the assets expected to produce its next generation of earnings rather than simply promising distant growth.
Retirement income
Fortis stock currently pays $2.54 annually and a yield near 3.1% at recent prices. Management expects rate-base growth to support annual dividend increases of 4% to 6% through 2030, extending a record few Canadian companies can match.
The shares trade around 24 times trailing earnings, so Fortis stock isn’t sitting in the bargain bin. Investors pay a premium for its regulated operations and dividend record, making gradual purchases more sensible when adding this Canadian blue-chip stock.
That said, Fortis stock uses substantial debt to fund infrastructure, leaving earnings sensitive to borrowing costs. Regulators could also reject proposed investments or returns, while construction delays and currency movements may pressure results.
Bottom line
Fortis stock combines essential services, regulated earnings, a $28.8 billion growth plan, and 52 consecutive years of dividend increases. Investors who buy gradually and reinvest those payments could let its expanding power networks build a retirement income stream designed to keep growing long after their final paycheque.
