The stock market has been highly volatile throughout September, with the TSX 60 Index down 2.4% in the last 30 days. The volatility sparked as the US-Canada trade talks fell apart on August 22, 2026, and Canada reciprocated with a “dollar-for-dollar” tariff on September 8. The inflated tariff war did not include major Canadian exports like oil, gas, and gold, but it strained the stock market.
Shortly after announcing retaliatory tariffs, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hosted Canada’s first Investor Summit on September 15. The summit secured $500 billion in investment for critical infrastructure in digital technology, energy, and transportation. He aims to attract over $1 trillion in investment over the next five years. The TSX 60 Index fell 3.3% between September 3 and 10, and recovered 1.9% between September 16 and 22.
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Canadian stocks posted their first weekly gain
The investor summit revived growth and sent beneficiaries of the infrastructure boom on a weekly gain. Three broad segments – Artificial intelligence (AI) data centre, industrial equipment and raw materials – saw a sharp uptick of 5%–20% in the week from September 16 to 23.
AI data centre stocks weekly rally
Bell Canada (TSX: BCE) and the Government of Saskatchewan are partnering to build a 1.2-gigawatt Canadian AI infrastructure hub with a total investment of $52.5 billion. This announcement drove stocks of Celestica, which provides Ethernet switches and custom racks to hyperscalers. The company is already working with Google, OpenAI, and Advanced Micro Devices for original design manufacturing (ODM) components.
Other contributors to AI infrastructure are bitcoin mining companies Hut 8 and Hive Digital Technologies (TSX: HIVE). They are using their crypto mining capabilities to build AI data centres and energy infrastructure. Hive is already working with Bell Canada on its AI fabric. Hut 8 is working with several cloud companies for AI data centres.
All three stocks corrected between June and August over fears of slowing AI investments. Anthropic and OpenAI admitted to slowing AI development to focus on global AI regulations. Bell Canada’s new investments have revived the AI infrastructure boom.
| AI data centre stocks | Rally Sept 16–23, 2026 | Equipment and raw material stocks | Rally Sept 16–23, 2026 | Construction stocks | Rally Sept 16–23, 2026 |
| HIVE Digital Technologies | 16.1% | 5N Plus | 20.% | Aecon Group | 19.4% |
| Hut 8 | 15.1% | Hammond Power Solutions | 17.9% | Bird Construction | 8.3% |
| Celestica | 12.9% | Toromont Industries | 10.8% | Badger Infrastructure Solutions | 5.8% |
Industrial equipment stocks
Prime Minister Carney also announced a new Productivity Mega Deduction, which will allow businesses to deduct 100% of the cost of eligible capital investment, including machinery and equipment. This news drove up the stock of 5N Plus (TSX: VNP), which manufactures specialty semiconductors and performance materials for renewable energy, security, space, pharmaceutical, medical imaging, and industrial. The company is seeing strong demand in space solar power and bismuth-based product markets, such as quantum computing and ultra-thin electronic devices.
Hammond Power Solutions manufactures transformers for data centres, oil and gas, mining, steel, waste and water treatment, and commercial construction. It has been riding a cyclical rally due to increased oil and gas production. Toromont Industries sells and leases new and used equipment used in diverse industries, from road building to mining and telecommunications to food and beverage processing.
All three stocks corrected between the end of August and early September amidst ongoing trade talks between the US and Canada. However, the trade talks failed, and the announcement of a mega deduction on equipment purchases could drive demand for equipment.
Construction stocks
After equipment procurement comes construction, which benefits engineering and construction stocks such as Aecon Group (TSX: ARE), Bird Construction, and Badger Infrastructure Solutions. All three are building critical infrastructure and are witnessing a growing order book. For instance, Bird is building a 300MW data centre for Bell Canada in Saskatchewan. Aecon is building the Darlington nuclear plant and deploying gigabit fibre service for Bell Canada.
Investor takeaway
The weekly gain draws a clear picture of the beneficiaries of the infrastructure boom. Consider investing in Hive, 5N Plus, and Aecon Group to cash in on upcoming infrastructure investments.
