10 Best Canadian Dividend Stocks for Your Portfolio

Enviable Dividend Records: The Best Dividend Stocks in Canada

With all the market volatility over the past couple of years, investors are even more keen to find a secure place to park their money. But while growth stocks will continue to have their allure, income-generating stocks also have their attractions. High dividend payers come from all sectors, including tech, and so Cantech Letter has picked ten of the best from a range of industries, all with high yields, high market capitalization and a history of raising their dividends.

Stock: BCE (BCE Stock Quote, Charts, News, Analysts, Financials TSX:BCE)

Market Capitalization: $53 billion

Dividend Yield: 6.5 per cent

Year-to-date return: -2 per cent

Canadian telecommunications giant BCE has wireless and wireline businesses along with its Bell Media segment. Telco stocks did well in the early days of the pandemic but have pulled back more recently, and that’s the same for BCE which is down about seven per cent over the past 12 months. 

Stock: Telus (Telus Stock Quote, Charts, News, Analysts, Financials TSX:T)

Market Capitalization: $36 billion

Dividend Yield: 5.7 per cent

Year-to-date return: -3 per cent

Another major Canadian telecom stock, Telus has mobile and broadband offerings like BCE and Rogers Communications but unlike those two, its non-telecom business isn’t in media but in tech-related fields such as digital customer experience and digital healthcare. The stock currently has a five-year return of about six per cent.

Stock: Royal Bank (Royal Bank Stock Quote, Charts, News, Analysts, Financials TSX:RY)

Market Capitalization: $174 billion

Dividend Yield: 4.3 per cent

Year-to-date return: -2 per cent

Bank stocks have taken it on the chin over the past half-year, as market uncertainty persists in relation to the recent high-profile collapse of a handful of banks in the US. Between March 2020 and March 2022, the S&P/TSX Composite Bank Index went nowhere but up, but it’s been falling back in the year and a bit since. For Royal Bank, the stock has also fallen over the past half-year, but its 12-month return is relatively flat.

Stock: National Bank (National Bank Stock Quote, Charts, News, Analysts, Financials TSX:NA)

Market Capitalization: $33 billion

Dividend Yield: 4.2 per cent

Year-to-date return: 7 per cent

Not all the bank stocks have suffered losses over the past half-year, however, and National Bank is one of the few with a strong performance. NA is up about 12 per cent over the past 12 months — that’s huge for a solid, high-yield name like this one.

Stock: Enbridge Inc (Enbridge Inc Stock Quote, Charts, News, Analysts, Financials TSX:ENB)

Market Capitalization: $97 billion

Dividend Yield: 7.3 per cent

Year-to-date return: -9 per cent

In the weeds for a number of years, energy stocks came roaring back in 2021-22, with a more recent pullback. For Enbridge, a Calgary-based energy infrastructure company with business in pipelines, gas transmission and midstream as well as distribution and storage, the highs and lows over the past few years haven’t been too dramatic, but the stock is down about 12 per cent over the past year.

Stock: Fortis Inc (Fortis Inc Stock Quote, Charts, News, Analysts, Financials TSX:FTS)

Market Capitalization: $27 billion

Dividend Yield: 4.0 per cent

Year-to-date return: 2 per cent

Electric and gas utility business Fortis is down over the past six months as well as the past year, but on a longer schedule, the stock has been a winner with a steady and growing dividend. Business has been good, too, with the company growing its revenue and earnings in recent years.

Stock: Pembina Pipeline Corp  (Pembina Pipeline Corp Stock Quote, Charts, News, Analysts, Financials TSX:PPL)

Market Capitalization: $22 billion

Dividend Yield: 6.6 per cent

Year-to-date return: 12 per cent

Calgary-based Pembina has conventional, bitumen and heavy oil transportation and midstream business, transmission and storage. The company has almost doubled its revenue over the past two years as it expands its business and grows its bottom line as well, with EPS hitting $5.14 per share last year.

Stock: TC Energy (TC Energy Stock Quote, Charts, News, Analysts, Financials TSX:TRP)

Market Capitalization: $52 bilion

Dividend Yield: 7.0 per cent

Year-to-date return: -4 per cent

TC Energy has taken a tumble over the past 12 months, dropping about 23 per cent over that timespan. But the energy infrastructure company has been trying to right the ship by wrapping up its Coastal GasLink project this year and divesting billions in assets. 

Stock: Power Corp (Power Corp Stock Quote, Charts, News, Analysts, Financials TSX:POW)

Market Capitalization: $24 billion

Dividend Yield: 5.7 per cent

Year-to-date return: 14 per cent

Montreal-based Power Corp is a financial services company with insurance and asset management segments. The stock has delivered a solid eight per cent return over the past year.

Stock: Sun Life Financial (Sun Life Financial Stock Quote, Charts, News, Analysts, Financials TSX:SLF)

Market Capitalization: $39 billion

Dividend Yield: 4.4 per cent

Year-to-date return: 7 per cent

Sun Life Financials is a financial services company with a range of insurance products along with investment and asset management services. In general, insurance stocks took a tumble in 2020 but quickly recovered and have been relatively flat in recent years with a slow but continuing up-trend. That fits Sun Life’s trajectory, as well, where the stock is up about 26 per cent over the past five years.