Not every stock is worth holding for a lifetime. Every business has a cycle from growth to maturity to recession, followed by a recovery. A company that adapts its business to change thrives, and others barely survive. But for the stocks that are worth holding onto, a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) is a good vehicle.
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Why a TFSA is an ideal instrument to hold long-term stocks
A TFSA allows you to start investing after you turn 18 until your last breath, irrespective of your income. The only condition is that you must be a Canadian resident for tax purposes. If you have lived abroad for two years, you can’t contribute to your TFSA, and your contribution room will also not accumulate for those years.
The TFSA also allows you to withdraw tax-free. It means if you manage to hit a jackpot and buy stocks of the future Nvidia, you can keep selling small portions and withdraw that amount tax-free. Only U.S. dividend stocks might pose a problem, as the Internal Revenue Service withholds tax on dividends, and even a TFSA can’t avoid that tax.
Two Canadian stocks to hold in my TFSA for life
Lifetime holding needs some motivation in the form of dividend payouts. While there are many good dividend stocks, this one is particularly worth holding for the long term.
Granite REIT
Unlike other REITs that are either concentrated in a geographic location, a single tenant, or a property type, Granite REIT (TSX: GRT.UN) has a diversified portfolio. Its largest tenant is Magna International. The REIT has been actively reducing exposure to this tenant from 93% of gross leasable area (GLA) in 2012 to 19% in June 2026. Also, it has 60% of its property in the United States, 22% in Canada, and the rest in Europe. Granite has diversified its portfolio across e-commerce distribution, logistics, warehouse, and industrial properties.
What makes me bullish on Granite is that it actively acquires and disposes of properties to keep up with the evolving demands for property types. In the first six months of 2026, it acquired eight income-producing properties and increased revenue by $9.1 million. This was offset by a revenue decline of $7.9 million from dispositions of five income-producing properties. As for net operating income from the same property, Granite expects this to grow by 6%-6.5% in 2026. All this has helped Granite increase its funds from operations per unit at a compounded annual growth rate of 10% in the last five years.
While Granite is active and modern in its property management, it maintains a conservative balance sheet. Its net debt of $3.1 billion is 32% of its investment property value or 6.6 times its adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA). It is way below the industry average of 9.6 times.
The REIT can give you a 4%–5% yield if you buy in September or October, when the REIT’s unit price tends to fall below $75. Moreover, the REIT grows dividends by 4% on average. A consistent payout can help you stay invested.
HIVE stock
HIVE Digital Technologies (TSX: HIVE) is a stock to buy and hold forever and keep taking payouts on occasional growth. This stock has restructured over time. It started as blockchain technology that mines Bitcoin and Ethereum. But the Ethereum merge in 2022 removed the entire business segment overnight, and all Hive was left with was Bitcoin.
It looked to monetize its Nvidia graphics processing unit (GPU)-powered data centre with cloud services. The BUZZ platform started with leasing high-performance computing space on the cloud. However, the artificial intelligence (AI) boom created an opportunity for HIVE to leverage its strength in building and managing GPU-powered data centres. It began converting its Tier 1 data centres to Tier 3. It even partnered with BCE to build AI fabric. HIVE is looking for a hyperscaler customer to accelerate its growth.
The way Hive has modified and adjusted its business to fast-changing technology trends makes me bullish on the stock. It is a stock to buy at $4 or lower and keep booking profits whenever the share price crosses $8.
