Finding a stock you can confidently hold for decades is not easy. Markets change. Interest rates rise and fall. Entire industries can be disrupted. But some businesses own assets that society will need regardless of what the economy looks like.
That is why long-term Canadian investors should consider durable infrastructure.
One example worth further research is Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (TSX: BIP.UN), a dividend stock that combines essential infrastructure assets, recurring cash flow, global diversification, and a long history of distribution growth.
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The durability of essential infrastructure
Brookfield Infrastructure owns and operates infrastructure businesses spanning utilities, transport, midstream, and data infrastructure. These aren’t speculative products that consumers may abandon when the economy weakens. They are networks and services that businesses and households rely on every day.
That matters for an investor thinking in generations rather than quarters.
Historically, Brookfield Infrastructure has achieved organic growth within its target range of 6% to 9%. In 2025, it was 8%, helped by inflation-linked increases, higher volumes, and newly commissioned capital. In 2025, it also generated funds from operations (FFO) of US$2.6 billion, or US$3.32 per unit, representing 6.4% per-unit growth.
To give income investors peace of mind, the partnership maintains a long-term FFO payout target of 60% to 70%. This provides an important cushion between the cash generated by the business and distributions paid to investors.
A dividend that keeps growing
For a stock intended to survive multiple generations, today’s yield isn’t enough. Investors should care about whether the underlying business can keep increasing its payout.
BIP.UN has an impressive dividend hike record. In January 2026, Brookfield Infrastructure announced its 17th consecutive distribution increase of at least 5%, raising the quarterly distribution to an annualized payout of US$1.82, an increase of 5.8%. The diversified utility’s distributions have grown at a 7% compound annual rate over the past decade.
That’s the kind of compounding that can transform a merely decent income investment into a meaningful long-term wealth-building asset.
There is another reason to pay attention: management isn’t simply relying on existing assets. Other than improving on its existing assets, Brookfield Infrastructure also sells mature assets as a part of its game plan. It generated more than US$3 billion from asset sales in 2025 and reinvested capital into new opportunities. It also identified artificial-intelligence infrastructure as an emerging growth avenue, including power solutions for data centres and AI factories.
This combination of dependable infrastructure, optimization, and reinvestment provides multiple avenues to grow the company.
No stock is risk-free
Of course, no stock is risk-free, but having a long-term investment horizon can allow you to ride through volatility while allowing a quality investment to grow for the long haul. Brookfield Infrastructure carries debt, operates internationally, faces currency movements, and can be affected by interest rates and capital-market conditions. Investors also need to understand the tax and structural considerations associated with a limited partnership before buying. Notably, BIP is in the progress of merging with Brookfield Infrastructure Corp. to become a single corporation in the fourth quarter.
The bottom line
The best generational investments aren’t necessarily the most exciting stocks. They’re businesses with essential assets, durable competitive advantages, recurring cash flow and management capable of reinvesting for growth. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners checks many of those boxes while rewarding investors with a growing distribution.
For Canadians searching for a stock that could potentially outlive them — and continue generating income for the next generation — BIP.UN deserves a serious place on the watch list, after the recent dip, resulting in a yield close to 5%.
