If you buy a stock for your Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA), you don’t want to be asking yourself every few months whether it’s time to sell. You should rather own businesses that make that decision easy by continuing to grow, generate cash, and strengthen their competitive positions year after year. That’s one of the biggest advantages of long-term Foolish investing. Instead of chasing whatever happens to be popular, you could let exceptional companies compound your wealth while you focus on almost anything else.
While finding such businesses isn’t always easy, when you do, they could give your portfolio a strong base that lasts for decades. In this article, I’ll share two reliable Canadian stocks that I believe deserve a permanent place in a long-term TFSA.
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CCL Industries stock
A dependable TFSA holding should have a durable business and room to keep expanding. And CCL Industries (TSX: CCL.B) offers both.
The Toronto-based company supplies specialty labels, security products, and packaging solutions to customers around the world. After rallying by 21% over the last year, CCL stock currently trades at $94.63 per share, giving the company a market cap of $16.1 billion. The stock also rewards investors with quarterly dividends, with its annualized dividend yield currently hovering around 1.6%.
Steady growth across CCL’s diversified operations has helped its share price surge lately. In the first quarter, the company’s sales rose 2.8% year-over-year (YoY) to $1.9 billion. Organic growth contributed 1.9%, while acquisitions and favourable currency movements added further support.
Its largest business segment led the quarter as sales in the core CCL segment grew 3.1% organically, while operating profit climbed 5.2% to $210.8 million. Stronger pharmaceutical demand, a recovery in food and beverage activity, and new electronics business helped offset softer conditions in some consumer and automotive markets.
During the quarter, CCL also returned $129.8 million to investors through dividends and share repurchases. Meanwhile, its leverage ratio remained low at 0.85 times adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization).
That financial flexibility gives the business room to keep investing in global expansion. It also helps CCL manage rising costs for resin, aluminum, energy, and fuel. For TFSA investors, the combination of a broad customer base, steady cash generation, and disciplined capital returns gives CCL stock lasting appeal.
Waste Connections stock
Another Canadian stock that could match a long-term TFSA strategy is Waste Connections (TSX: WCN).
This TSX-listed company provides waste collection, transfer, recycling, and disposal services to about nine million customers across the United States and Canada. Its shares trade at $238.74 per share, and the company has a market cap of roughly $60 billion. WCN stock has slipped 7% over the last year and currently offers a 0.8% annualized dividend yield.
That recent weakness in its stock doesn’t reflect the underlying strength in its financials, as Waste Connections continued to deliver solid operating growth in the second quarter. The company’s revenue rose 6.4% YoY to US$2.6 billion, while adjusted EBITDA increased 6.8% to US$840.1 million. Its adjusted EBITDA margin also reached 32.8%. Strong execution, higher pricing, fuel cost recovery, and contributions from acquisitions helped drive those gains.
Encouraged by these strong results, Waste Connections recently raised its outlook for 2026. It now expects revenue between US$10.02 billion and US$10.05 billion, along with adjusted EBITDA of US$3.33 billion to US$3.34 billion. In the first half of the year, the business also completed acquisitions representing more than US$100 million in annualized revenue and repurchased a record US$614.5 million of shares.
Waste Connections operates an essential business with pricing power, recurring demand, and a proven acquisition strategy. That’s why its growing cash flow and recent share-price pullback make WCN stock even more attractive for TFSA investors who are prepared to hold it for the long term.
