Build a Lucrative Passive-Income Portfolio With Just $35,000

If you think $35,000 isn’t enough money to build a serious passive-income portfolio, you might be surprised by how much income that amount could generate when invested strategically. And you wouldn’t need to take on another job, manage a rental property, or constantly trade stocks to receive those payments.

Of course, a $35,000 investment probably won’t replace your salary, but it could help cover a few recurring expenses or give you extra money to reinvest each year. And as your savings grow and you continue adding to your investments, those payments could gradually grow.

In this article, I’ll share two Canadian dividend-paying stocks that could help you put $35,000 to work and start collecting passive income.

Keyera stock

The first Canadian dividend stock I’d consider for building a rewarding passive-income portfolio is Keyera (TSX: KEY), especially given its expanding energy infrastructure business and attractive yield.

This Calgary-based firm primarily focuses on gathering, processing, transporting, and storing natural gas and related liquids. Over the last year, KEY stock has gained 23% to currently trade at $51.26 per share with a market cap of $15 billion. At this market price, it offers a 4.4% annualized dividend yield with quarterly payouts.

Besides its solid dividend yield, Keyera is continuing to benefit from expanding operations. In the third quarter, the company’s adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) surged nearly 65% year-over-year (YoY) to $462 million. This impressive growth was mainly driven by contributions from its recently acquired Plains Canadian natural gas liquids business, increased ownership in KAPS, and higher volumes across its infrastructure network.

More importantly for income investors, Keyera’s quarterly distributable cash flow climbed over 34% YoY last quarter, supporting its dividend payments.

Another positive is that Keyera has already captured or implemented about $115 million in annualized cost savings and other benefits from the Plains acquisition. Meanwhile, its ongoing infrastructure expansion projects and strong customer demand support its target of 7% to 8% annual growth in fee-based adjusted EBITDA per share from 2027 to 2029.

Given these growth opportunities and its attractive quarterly dividends, Keyera could be a great stock to buy now if you’re aiming to build a reliable long-term passive-income stream.

RioCan REIT stock

Another attractive Canadian stock that could help turn your $35,000 investment into a steady income source is RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX: REI.UN), which rewards its investors with monthly dividends.

This Toronto-based real estate investment trust (REIT) owns and manages a large portfolio of retail properties, many anchored by grocery stores and other essential businesses. After rising 13% over the last year, RioCan stock currently trades at $21.36 per unit with a market cap of $6.2 billion. It also offers an attractive 5.5% dividend yield.

In the September quarter, its core funds from operations (FFO) per unit climbed 5.1% YoY with the help of stronger rental performance, property acquisitions, and unit repurchases.

Similarly, the REIT’s commercial same-property net operating income rose 4.2% YoY, while strong tenant demand helped its retail committed occupancy reach a record 98.9%.

On top of that, RioCan continues to strengthen its retail-focused portfolio through strategic property transactions. Its average rent on new leases reached $31.45 per square foot in the latest quarter, suggesting further room for rental income growth.

With these encouraging business trends and its attractive monthly distributions, RioCan could be another excellent addition to a $35,000 passive-income portfolio.

How much can you expect to earn in passive income?

By investing $17,500 in each of these two dividend stocks, you could generate roughly $1,733 in annual passive income based on their current yields, assuming distributions remain unchanged. That’s a promising starting point for building a growing income stream over the long run.