3 Savvy Ways Canadians Can Invest in the Country's Infrastructure Boom

3 Savvy Ways Canadians Can Invest in the Country’s Infrastructure Boom

Find out how Prime Minister Carney’s plans for Canadian infrastructure can benefit investors and revitalize key industries.

Puja Tayal

Author Bio

Puja Tayal grew up in a small-business family where dinner conversations often centred on working capital and savings. Her early experiences with investing, particularly during the 2008 financial crisis, shaped her approach to understanding markets and evaluating investment opportunities. She began her career at a mutual fund company before moving into investor education and financial writing for asset and wealth management firms. Before joining The Motley Fool, Puja wrote for Market Realist, where she extensively covered the semiconductor industry. Her published work has also appeared in The Indian Express. Puja believes every stock has a story that can help investors understand its potential returns. She combines business analysis with different investing approaches to help investors make informed decisions and align their portfolios with their long-term financial goals. Outside of finance, Puja enjoys long drives, catching up with friends, watching superhero and science-fiction movies, and managing her family portfolio. She also has a keen interest in artificial intelligence and its potential to reshape the world.

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting and Finance, University of Mumbai (2007)
CFA Level I

Areas of Expertise

Qualitative company analysis, management strategy, risk assessment, long-term investing, portfolio diversification and rebalancing, dividend reinvestment, cyclical growth opportunities, compounding strategies, growth stocks, and dividend stocks.

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Favorite Investment Quote

"Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing." — Warren Buffett

Published September 24, 9:00 pm EDT

Canada’s infrastructure boom is picking up momentum. Prime Minister Mark Carney has invited the world’s largest investors to invest in Canada’s infrastructure projects, from data centres to pipelines and port expansions. He aims to bring $1 trillion in investments over the next five years. These high-stakes investments also bring opportunities for Canadians to ride the wave and make windfall gains.

infrastructure like highways enables economic growth — Source: Getty Images

Three ways Canadians can invest in the country’s infrastructure boom

For the infrastructure boom to materialize, Carney is working towards creating a supportive ecosystem of tax incentives and regulatory systems that offer “predictability” for major proposed projects. Faster approvals will change the infrastructure landscape and revive some stocks that have burnt cash on delays.

Any major infrastructure project needs three key things: those who put in the capital expenditure and own the project, those who build it, and those who supply raw materials.

Infrastructure companies funding capex

If you look at the balance sheets of energy and telecom infrastructure companies, they are saddled with debt because of accelerated capex.

Enbridge

Enbridge (TSX: ENB) has $41 billion in projects coming online over the next five years, from gas pipelines to storage. It plans to bring projects worth $8 billion online in 2026. The company is also raising equity capital to fund a US$2.6 billion acquisition of Tallgrass Energy’s crude oil transportation business, which has pulled the stock down.

Enbridge’s debt has surpassed $103.8 billion, which is 5 times its 2025 adjusted earnings before interest, income taxes, and depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). Piling debt could pull down the share price in the short term, creating a buying opportunity. These projects will earn cash flow once online and help Enbridge grow dividends in the long term.

BCE

BCE (TSX: BCE) is investing in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, building a $1.7 billion data centre in Saskatchewan as part of its AI fabric. To fund the AI fabric, it delayed deleveraging for the second time. Its total debt stood at $41 billion, which is 3.7 times its adjusted EBITDA. This debt has pulled down its share price, cut dividends, paused dividend growth, and reduced its financial flexibility. However, the infrastructure boom has revived hopes of recovery over the long term, as BCE’s AI fabric will be a key infrastructure towards AI sovereignty. It means you can expect full utilization of the AI ecosystem.

Construction services

This infrastructure stock is funding capex, which is pushing the construction company share prices up in the short term.

Bird Construction (TSX: BDT) builds infrastructure, buildings, and industrial properties. It is helping build BCE AI fabric, Woodfibre LNG, and a nuclear plant, all of which are multi-year large capital investment programs. The company has a strong balance sheet, and its order book has grown significantly to $12 billion.

You can see Bird stock moving in the opposite direction to Enbridge and BCE in September as announcements of infrastructure investments create opportunities for more orders. Plus, accelerated approvals of major projects could reduce completion time and costs.

It is a stock to grab at even a small dip. Order execution and new orders will keep stock momentum going. However, it is a stock to own for the short term because of its inflated valuations. Once the capex slows, Bird’s stock could see a sharp correction.

Raw material providers

CES Energy Solutions (TSX: CEU) is indirectly involved in the infrastructure boom. It provides specialized consumable chemicals used throughout the oilfield lifecycle. CES has a sizeable share in the North American drilling fluids market: 40% in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin and approximately 40% in the Permian Basin. It also provides chemicals injected into pipelines and midstream networks for the smooth flow of hydrocarbons to international export terminals.

CES is in a cyclical uptrend as oil drilling activity increased, driving demand for its chemicals. Considering the current scenario and Canada’s move to diversify its energy export markets, CES could see more upside. Instead of buying an oil stock, CES is a better buy because of its asset-light model and low-leverage balance sheet. This helps CES stock rise faster than oil stocks, as is evident in the 106% gain in the last 12 months.