Retirees and other income investors are wondering which top Canadian stocks are good to buy on pullbacks for a self-directed Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) portfolio focused on dividends and long-term capital gains.
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Enbridge
Enbridge (TSX: ENB) trades near $77 per share at the time of writing compared to the 2026 high above $80. The decline isn’t significant, but it has pushed the dividend yield back above 5% and gives investors who missed the surge over the past two years a chance to pick up the stock at a bit of a dip.
Enbridge has the financial firepower to make large acquisitions to drive growth. In recent years, the company bought an oil export terminal in Texas for US$3 billion and acquired three American natural gas utilities for US$14 billion. The company also bulked up its renewable power group with the purchase of a solar and wind project developer based in the United States.
On the development side, Enbridge is working through a $40 billion secured capital program with projects spread out across the core business lines, including oil and gas infrastructure, exports, renewables, and gas utilities.
International demand for Canadian oil and natural gas is on the rise as global buyers seek out reliable supplies from stable providers. This should benefit Enbridge’s transmission and export operations. In the domestic markets, the surge in construction of AI data centres is driving demand growth for natural gas as gas-fired power facilities are built to provide power to these facilities.
Enbridge increased the dividend in each of the past 31 years. The boost in cash flow from the capital program should support ongoing dividend hikes.
Fortis
Fortis (TSX: FTS) has given investors a dividend increase for 52 consecutive years. As with Enbridge, the company has a large presence in the United States with assets that include electricity transmission networks and natural gas distribution utilities.
Fortis hasn’t made a large acquisition in recent years, but it continues to grow through its extensive capital program that now sits at $28.8 billion. The investments are expected to raise the rate base from around $42 billion to about $58 billion over five years. As the new assets get completed and go into service, the boost to earnings and cash flow should enable the board to meet its target of 4% to 6% annual dividend growth through 2030.
Fortis trades near $80 per share at the time of writing compared to the recent high above $83.
Bank of Nova Scotia
Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX: BNS) is up more than 55% in the past year. The stock has pulled back a bit, however, and currently trades for close to $121 per share, down from more than $126 earlier this month.
Contrarian investors who bought BNS stock in late 2023 have already doubled their money, but more gains should be on the way. Bank of Nova Scotia’s turnaround plan is making the business more efficient while focusing growth capital on the United States and Canada instead of Latin America, where it previously spent billions of dollars on acquisitions that didn’t deliver the anticipated returns for investors. Return on equity (ROE) is now improving, which should support a higher multiple for the stock.
At the time of writing, investors can get a dividend yield of about 3.8% from Bank of Nova Scotia.
The bottom line
Enbridge, Fortis, and Bank of Nova Scotia pay good dividends that should continue to grow. If you have some cash to put to work when the market dips, these stocks deserve to be on your radar.
