There’s no question that when investors are looking for a safe Canadian dividend stock, an energy producer usually isn’t the first type of company that comes to mind.
Oil and gas prices are constantly fluctuating, and when commodity prices decline, producers can see their revenue and cash flow fall rapidly.
However, not every energy stock has the same risk. In fact, Canadian Natural Resources (TSX: CNQ) has built one of the most impressive dividend-growth records on the TSX.
Since beginning to pay a dividend in 2001, Canadian Natural has continued paying through the aftermath of the dot-com bubble, the financial crisis, multiple oil crashes, and the pandemic.
Even more impressively, it hasn’t just maintained the dividend. It has increased the payout every single year.
So, if you’re looking for a reliable Canadian dividend stock to buy and hold for years, here’s why Canadian Natural is one of the best.
Source: Getty Images
An impressive dividend-growth record
Canadian Natural introduced its regular quarterly dividend in early 2001, meaning 2026 is now the 26th consecutive year in which it has increased its payout.
Adjusted for stock splits, its first quarterly dividend was just $0.00625 per share, or $0.025 annually. Today, Canadian Natural pays $0.625 per quarter, giving it an annualized dividend of $2.50 per share.
Therefore, in just over 25 years, Canadian Natural’s annualized dividend has increased by 100 times.
Of course, the company is significantly larger today than it was in 2001. However, the most impressive part of that dividend growth is that it didn’t occur only when oil prices were strong.
Canadian Natural continued increasing its payout during the financial crisis and throughout the oil crash from 2014 to 2016. It also raised the dividend in 2020, a year when the pandemic crushed global energy demand and benchmark U.S. crude futures briefly traded below zero.
So, although a long dividend-growth streak doesn’t ever guarantee the payout will remain safe forever, Canadian Natural’s record offers investors more than just a promise. It also shows that management has already prioritized the dividend through several of the most challenging environments the energy industry has faced.
Why the Canadian dividend stock has been so dependable
Canadian Natural is still exposed to commodity prices, and its earnings will always fluctuate as oil and natural gas prices rise and fall. However, its operations are built to handle that volatility better than those of many smaller producers.
The company owns a diversified collection of assets, including oil sands mining and upgrading operations, thermal oil, conventional crude oil, natural gas, and international production.
More importantly, many of its largest assets have long reserve lives and low production declines.
That means that rather than having to replace a significant portion of its production every year just to maintain output, Canadian Natural has more flexibility to reduce discretionary spending during downturns without immediately sacrificing most of its production.
Its scale also helps lower costs and allows management to move capital between different projects depending on where it sees the best opportunities.
That strength was evident again in the second quarter of 2026. Canadian Natural achieved record production of nearly 1.7 million barrels of oil equivalent per day and generated approximately $6.9 billion in adjusted funds flow.
The company used that cash to pay $1.3 billion in dividends, repurchase another $1.1 billion worth of shares and reduce net debt by approximately $1.6 billion to $14.5 billion.
Management is now working toward its next net-debt target of $13 billion, and when it reaches that level, Canadian Natural expects to allocate 100% of its free cash flow to direct shareholder returns through share repurchases.
And while the stock currently offers a yield of just 3.7%, which isn’t the highest yield out there, there aren’t many high-quality Canadian energy stocks that can match its combination of dividend growth, asset quality, and proven capital discipline.
So, if you’re looking for a Canadian dividend stock that has already proven it can protect investors’ income through recessions and oil crashes, Canadian Natural is easily one of the best to buy and hold for the long haul.
