Finding a stock worth holding for decades is harder than finding one that looks attractive today. For a true buy-and-hold investment, I want businesses with durable competitive advantages, reliable cash flow, strong management, and multiple avenues for growth.
That’s why I’d be comfortable holding these three Canadian stocks in my Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) for the long haul: Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RY), Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (TSX:BIP.UN), and WSP Global (TSX:WSP).
The three stocks offer different ways to build wealth. RBC provides dependable dividends and financial-sector diversification. Brookfield Infrastructure offers inflation-linked infrastructure cash flows and growing distributions. WSP, meanwhile, brings the kind of earnings growth that could drive significant capital appreciation over time.
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Royal Bank: A Canadian compounder built to last
Royal Bank of Canada is arguably one of the easiest Canadian stocks to envision holding for decades. Its enormous scale and diversified operations give it several engines of growth, spanning personal banking, commercial banking, wealth management, insurance, and capital markets. In fiscal 2025, those businesses generated $66.6 billion of revenue and net income of $19.9 billion.
RBC also has a long history of rewarding shareholders with dividends. Its size, profitability, and international operations provide resilience through different economic environments.
For a TFSA investor, that combination is particularly attractive. Dividends can be reinvested without tax inside the account, allowing investors to harness the power of compounding. I’d view significant market pullbacks as opportunities to add to RBC.
Brookfield Infrastructure: Income and growth in one package
Brookfield Infrastructure is my pick for investors seeking a higher income stream without giving up growth potential. The partnership owns essential infrastructure across utilities, transportation, midstream energy, and data, producing cash flows that are generally less sensitive to economic cycles.
Even better, 85% of its funds from operations are protected from or indexed to inflation. Management is targeting 5-9% annual distribution growth, and 2026 marks the 18th consecutive year in which the distribution has increased by at least 5%.
There’s also an important corporate development ahead. Brookfield Infrastructure announced plans in July 2026 to simplify its corporate structure, which could ultimately leave investors with a simpler way to own the business.
That combination of infrastructure exposure, inflation protection, income, and growth is exactly what I want from a long-term holding.
WSP Global: The growth stock I’d keep buying
WSP Global is a different kind of investment because its investment case is driven far more by earnings growth than dividends. Yet that’s precisely why I’d want it in a TFSA portfolio designed to compound for decades.
WSP is one of the world’s largest professional-services and engineering firms, benefiting from enormous long-term needs for infrastructure renewal, urbanization, energy transition, and climate adaptation. Its growth has historically been impressive, with adjusted earnings per share (EPS) compounding at a double-digit rate.
The selloff from the peak in September 2025 makes the opportunity even more compelling. Investors worry that artificial intelligence could disrupt professional services, but WSP continues to produce strong underlying results.
At the end of second-quarter 2026, it reported a record project backlog of $20.1 billion (up 23% year over year), with organic growth of 5.7% over the previous 12 months. In the first half of the year, it reported adjusted EBITDA, a cash flow proxy, of $1.4 billion (up 23% YOY) with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 18% (up from 17.1%), adjusted net income was $686 million (up 28%), while adjusted EPS climbed 24%.
For long-term investors, temporary uncertainty could be an opportunity. If WSP continues growing earnings while its valuation remains discounted, the combination could produce excellent returns for the long haul.
The bottom line
These three stocks give me a balanced recipe for long-term TFSA wealth creation: RBC for dependable financial strength and dividends, Brookfield Infrastructure for resilient income and inflation protection, and WSP for superior growth potential.
I wouldn’t expect every year to be positive, and “for life” doesn’t mean ignoring changing fundamentals. But as long as these businesses continue executing, I’d be happy to let their earnings, dividends, and distributions compound for decades.
