Canadian retirees and other income investors are searching for high-yield dividend stocks to add to their self-directed Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) portfolios focused on generating tax-free passive income.
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Telus
Telus (TSX: T) trades near $13.60 at the time of writing, compared to $34 in 2022. The company recently brought in a new CEO who just cut the dividend by 55% and booked a $2.1 billion non-cash writedown on the value of Telus Digital, a subsidiary it took private last year.
Given these developments, investors might be nervous about buying Telus. That’s a fair call, as many of the pain points that led to the decline in the stock over the past few years are still headwinds for the business. Telus has a lot of debt and borrowing costs to refinance are not decreasing as bond yields drift higher. The decline in immigration, particularly international students, has cut into an important source of new customers. At the same time, price wars remain a threat in the Canadian market as mobile and internet competitors battle for a smaller pie.
All that being said, most of the pain is likely already priced into the stock at this point. The new CEO has cleared the deck to start the rebuild processed, so there shouldn’t be any new major negative surprises for investors. With the distribution cut being so deep, the new dividend payout should be safe. At the time of writing, Telus provides a dividend yield of 5.5%.
Enbridge
Enbridge (TSX: ENB) currently trades near $69 per share compared to $80 a few weeks ago. The pullback was expected after the big rally in the stock over the past three years, as Enbridge rebounded from its decline in 2022 and 2023.
Additional weakness is certainly possible over the near term as trade tensions build between Canada and the United States and high oil prices risk driving inflation even higher.
On the upside, Enbridge is a Canadian company, but it has significant assets in the United States. Enbridge owns an oil export terminal in Texas and purchased three American natural gas utilities for US$14 billion in 2024. It also owns the third-largest U.S. solar and wind developer with several contracts to provide power for American tech firms.
Enbridge’s $41 billion secured capital program is heavily focused on the American operations. The investments will help drive growth in adjusted earnings and distributable cash flow in the next few years. This should enable the board to continue raising the dividend. Enbridge has increased the distribution in each of the past 31 years. Investors who buy ENB stock at the current level can get a dividend yield of 5.6%.
BCE
BCE (TSX: BCE) is another Canadian communications provider that has been under pressure. As with Telus, BCE carries a lot of debt and faces the same mobile and internet sector challenges as its smaller peer. BCE’s media group has also run into difficulties as advertising revenue declines in the TV and radio segments.
The company slashed the dividend by about 56% in 2025, so that threat is already out of the way. BCE’s turnaround plan is focused on growing the American fibre internet business it purchased last year for about $5 billion. The cash largely came from the proceeds BCE received from the sale of its stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.
BCE is also building sovereign data centres to meet data-security demands from government and corporate clients. Most of the bad news for the stock should already be in the rearview mirror. At the current share price, new investors can get a 5.4% dividend yield from BCE.
The bottom line
Telus, Enbridge, and BCE currently offer attractive dividend yields that are well above the rate of inflation. If you have some cash to put to work in a TFSA focused on dividend income, these stocks deserve to be on your radar.
