A lot of investors hear the words passive income and immediately think they need a huge stock portfolio to generate that. But that’s not always the case. Even a smaller amount like $5,000 could generate real cash if it’s invested in solid dividend-paying stocks. The income may start small, but the important part is that it starts at all. From there, investors could reinvest the dividends, add more money over time, and let the portfolio grow.
Canadian energy infrastructure stocks could especially be interesting for this approach because many such TSX-listed companies offer healthy yields and businesses built around long-term assets.
In this article, I’ll highlight two Canadian dividend stocks and break down how much passive income a $5,000 investment could generate today.
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Pembina Pipeline stock
To get the first half of that $5,000 producing real dividend income, I’d put Pembina Pipeline (TSX: PPL) on the list with its attractive 4.7% annualized yield.
Pembina owns pipelines, natural gas gathering and processing facilities, natural gas liquids infrastructure, logistics assets, and export terminals. After rallying 22% so far in 2026, PPL stock currently hovers around $64 per share with a market cap of $37.2 billion.
The Canadian energy infrastructure firm’s revenue rose about 20% year over year (YoY) in the second quarter to $2.2 billion, while earnings climbed nearly 23% from a year ago to $512 million.
Pembina also posted adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) of $1.1 billion for the quarter, up 5% YoY. Wider natural gas liquids frac spreads boosted its result, along with solid operating performance and higher volumes across the Pipelines and Facilities divisions.
In addition, the pipeline firm is making plenty of efforts to improve growth further. In May, it placed RFS IV into service, adding 55,000 barrels per day of fractionation capacity. Pembina also sanctioned the Heartland Extraction Plant and Greenlight Electricity Centre while continuing to advance Cedar LNG.
Meanwhile, the company is targeting 5% to 7% compound annual fee-based adjusted EBITDA per-share growth through 2030. With a healthy yield and several growth projects underway, Pembina certainly looks attractive for investors building income with a relatively small starting portfolio today.
TC Energy stock
For the remaining $2,500 investment, TC Energy (TSX: TRP) offers another sizable dividend backed by a broad North American energy network. It mainly operates natural gas pipelines across Canada, the United States, and Mexico, along with power and energy assets.
Its shares have gained 12% over the last 12 months. With this, it now trades at $83.15 per share, while the company has a market cap of $86.8 billion. The stock also offers a 4.2% annualized dividend yield at the current market price.
TC Energy’s comparable EBITDA in the June quarter climbed 12% YoY to $2.9 billion, with its comparable earnings surging 16%.
During the first half of 2026, the company sanctioned roughly $3 billion of new projects, including pipeline expansions tied to growing power generation and data centre demand. At the same time, it also placed about $1.8 billion of projects into service.
| COMPANY | RECENT PRICE | NUMBER OF SHARES | INVESTMENT | DIVIDEND YIELD | YEARLY PAYOUT |
| Pembina Pipeline | $63.89 | 39 | $2,500 | 4.7% | $118 |
| TC Energy | $83.15 | 30 | $2,500 | 4.2% | $105 |
| TOTAL | $5,000 | $222.5 | |||
| Prices as of Sep 29, 2026 |
Here’s how much your $5,000 could earn in dividends
At the 4.2% yield provided, a $2,500 investment in TRP stock would represent roughly $105 in annual dividend income. Put together with Pembina, an evenly split $5,000 investment would represent roughly $222.50 in annual dividends at their current yields.
That income, combined with their ongoing infrastructure investments, makes Pembina and TC Energy attractive stocks for investors seeking dependable dividends and long-term growth potential.
