Dividend stocks have long been admired for their ability to create income for investors regardless of market conditions. In Canada, there are a large number of publicly traded companies with a track record of sharing profits with investors year after year, in the form of regular Dividend payments. This tax-efficient income stream is over and above the increasing value of a company’s share price.
How Does Dividend Investing Work?
Dividend investing is a strategy that involves buying stocks that pay regular dividends, and often have a track record of increasing dividend payments on an annual basis. Investors can use their dividend income to either buy more shares via a dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP) or to generate a steady income stream.
If dividend investing is something that interests you, there are plenty of places online where you can learn more about this tried and true investment strategy, starting with the following list of Top 100 Canadian Dividend Stocks for 2020. But first, allow me to explain the methodology behind our top picks.
Top 100 List Methodology
For 2020, I compiled our list of Top 100 Canadian Dividend Stocks from two sources: The Canadian Dividend Aristocrats Index, as well as the Simply Investing Report. Of course, any duplication from the two lists was removed, as well as the lowest yield performers from the combined list to arrive at 100.
Top 100 Canadian Dividend Stocks
| Name | Symbol | Price | P/E (ttm) | EPS (ttm) | Forward Annual Dividend | Dividend Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aecon Group Inc | ARE | 11.7 | 10.45 | 1.12 | 0.64 | 5.47% |
| Alaris Royalty Corp | AD | 7.52 | 7.67 | 0.98 | 1.65 | 21.94% |
| Algonquin Power and Utilities Corp | AQN | 17.64 | 12 | 1.04 | 0.79 | 4.50% |
| Allied Properties Real Estate Inv Trust | AP.UN | 42.34 | 7.59 | 5.58 | 1.65 | 3.90% |
| Atco Ltd Cl.I NV | ACO.X | 35.34 | 7.91 | 4.47 | 1.74 | 4.93% |
| Bank of Montreal | BMO | 66.95 | 7.65 | 8.75 | 4.24 | 6.33% |
| Bank of Nova Scotia | BNS | 54.59 | 8.02 | 6.81 | 3.60 | 6.59% |
| BCE Inc | BCE | 56.73 | 16.83 | 3.37 | 3.33 | 5.87% |
| Boralex Inc | BLX | 24.09 | N/A | -0.43 | 0.66 | 2.74% |
| Brookfield Asset Management Inc Cl.A Lv | BAM.A | 40.9 | 24.92 | 1.16 | 0.68 | 1.66% |
| Cae Inc | CAE | 15.87 | 11.93 | 1.33 | 0.44 | 2.77% |
| Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce | CM | 76.62 | 6.83 | 11.22 | 5.84 | 7.62% |
| Canadian National Railway Co. | CNR | 107.73 | 18.48 | 5.83 | 2.29 | 2.13% |
| Canadian Tire Corporation Cl A NV | CTC.A | 81.59 | 7.33 | 11.13 | 4.55 | 5.58% |
| Canadian Utilities Ltd Cl.A NV | CU | 31.62 | 9.76 | 3.24 | 1.74 | 5.51% |
| Capital Power Corp | CPX | 23.92 | 33.22 | 0.72 | 1.92 | 8.03% |
| Ccl Industries Inc Cl B NV | CCL.B | 40.26 | 15.14 | 2.66 | 0.72 | 1.79% |
| CDN Apartment Un | CAR.UN | 41.23 | 5.49 | 7.51 | 1.38 | 3.35% |
| CDN Natural Res | CNQ | 18.78 | 4.14 | 4.54 | 1.70 | 9.05% |
| CDN Western Bank | CWB | 17.87 | N/A | 3.11 | 1.16 | 6.32% |
| Chartwell Retirement Residences | CSH.UN | 8.54 | 1705.27 | 0.01 | 0.61 | 7.17% |
| Choice Properties REIT | CHP.UN | 12.65 | N/A | -1.87 | 0.74 | 5.85% |
| CI Financial Corp | CIX | 11.17 | 4.88 | 2.29 | 0.72 | 6.45% |
| Cogeco Communications Inc | CCA | 94.15 | 13.37 | 8.64 | 2.32 | 2.46% |
| Cogeco Inc Sv | CGO | 83.6 | 11.24 | 9.13 | 1.90 | 2.27% |
| CT Real Estate Investment Trust | CRT.UN | 11.64 | 9.76 | 1.19 | 0.79 | 6.76% |
| Dollarama Inc | DOL | 38.51 | 21.63 | 1.78 | 0.18 | 0.46% |
| Emera Incorporated | EMA | 52.03 | 18.85 | 2.76 | 2.45 | 4.71% |
| Empire Company Limited | EMP.A | 27.8 | 14.33 | N/A | 0.48 | 1.73% |
| Enbridge Inc | ENB | 39.6 | 15.06 | 2.63 | 3.24 | 8.18% |
| Enerflex Ltd | EFX | 5.98 | 3.54 | 1.69 | 0.08 | 1.34% |
| Enghouse Systems Limited | ENGH | 42.3 | 32.29 | 1.31 | 0.54 | 1.28% |
| Ensign Energy Services | ESI | 0.56 | N/A | -1.02 | 0.24 | 42.86% |
| Equitable Group Inc | EQB | 49.87 | 4.17 | 11.97 | 1.48 | 2.97% |
| Exchange Income Corp | EIF | 16.56 | 6.65 | 2.49 | 2.28 | 13.77% |
| Exco Technologies Limited | XTC | 5.39 | 7.09 | 0.76 | 0.38 | 7.05% |
| Fiera Capital Corp | FSZ | 5.55 | N/A | -0.14 | 0.84 | 15.14% |
| Finning Intl | FTT | 14.94 | 10.09 | 1.48 | 0.82 | 5.49% |
| Firstservice Corp | FSV | 99.5 | N/A | -6.58 | 0.93 | 0.93% |
| Fortis Inc | FTS | 51.08 | 13.51 | 3.78 | 1.91 | 3.74% |
| Franco-Nevada Corp | FNV | 152.84 | 59.1 | 1.83 | 1.42 | 0.93% |
| Genworth MI Canada Inc | MIC | 26.86 | 5.46 | 4.92 | 2.16 | 8.04% |
| Gildan Activewear Inc | GIL | 17.77 | 9.9 | 1.27 | 0.86 | 4.83% |
| Goeasy Ltd | GSY | 30.05 | 7.21 | 4.17 | 1.80 | 5.99% |
| Granite Real Estate Investment Trust | GRT.UN | 55.14 | 7.8 | 7.07 | 2.91 | 5.27% |
| Great-West Lifeco Inc | GWO | 21.67 | 8.69 | 2.49 | 1.75 | 8.08% |
| High Liner Foods Incorporated | HLF | 5.7 | 13.44 | 0.3 | 0.20 | 3.51% |
| Husky Energy Inc. | HSE | 4.05 | N/A | -1.41 | 0.50 | 12.35% |
| Imperial Oil | IMO | 16.97 | 5.89 | 2.88 | 0.88 | 5.19% |
| Industrial Alliance Ins & Fin Srv Inc | IAG | 38.94 | 6.08 | 6.4 | 1.94 | 4.98% |
| Innergex Renewable Energy Inc | INE | 17.93 | N/A | -0.25 | 0.72 | 4.02% |
| Intact Financial Corp | IFC | 128.12 | 25.22 | 5.08 | 3.32 | 2.59% |
| Inter Pipeline Ltd | IPL | 8.19 | 6.25 | 1.31 | 0.48 | 5.86% |
| Interrent Real Estate Investment Trust | IIP.UN | 12.61 | 3.98 | 3.17 | 0.31 | 2.46% |
| Intertape Polymer | ITP | 9.48 | 9.58 | 0.7 | 0.84 | 8.83% |
| Keyera Corp | KEY | 13.07 | 6.31 | 2.07 | 1.92 | 14.69% |
| Lassonde Industries | LAS.A | 147.98 | 14.27 | 10.37 | 2.38 | 1.61% |
| Laurentian Bank | LB | 28.25 | 7.91 | 3.57 | 2.68 | 9.49% |
| Loblaw CO | L | 72.48 | 24.99 | 2.9 | 1.26 | 1.74% |
| Magna International Inc | MG | 41.06 | 5.2 | 5.59 | 2.32 | 5.65% |
| Manulife Fin | MFC | 16.04 | 5.79 | 2.77 | 1.12 | 6.98% |
| Maple Leaf Foods | MFI | 24.97 | 41.62 | 0.6 | 0.64 | 2.56% |
| Methanex Corp | MX | 18.51 | 12.97 | 1.01 | 2.04 | 11.03% |
| Metro Inc | MRU | 57.71 | 21.7 | 2.66 | 0.80 | 1.39% |
| Mty Food Group Inc | MTY | 17.54 | 5.69 | 3.08 | 0.74 | 4.22% |
| National Bank of Canada | NA | 50.82 | 7.81 | 6.51 | 2.84 | 5.59% |
| New Flyer Industries Inc | NFI | 14 | 10.65 | 0.93 | 0.85 | 6.07% |
| Onex Corp | ONEX | 48.81 | 0.81 | 42.74 | 0.40 | 0.82% |
| Open Text Corp | OTEX | 48.13 | 28.15 | 1.21 | 1.01 | 2.10% |
| Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd | OR | 10.67 | N/A | -1.55 | 0.20 | 1.87% |
| Parkland Fuel Corp | PKI | 24.36 | 9.55 | 2.55 | 1.22 | 4.99% |
| Pembina Pipeline Corp | PPL | 24.62 | 9.62 | 2.65 | 2.43 | 9.88% |
| Power Corporation of Canada Sv | POW | 20.1 | 7.94 | 2.53 | 1.79 | 8.91% |
| Premium Brands Holdings Corp | PBH | 72.69 | 31.06 | 2.34 | 2.31 | 3.18% |
| Quebecor Inc Cl.B Sv | QBR.B | 30.11 | 13.88 | 2.55 | 0.80 | 2.66% |
| Richelieu Hardware Ltd | RCH | 21.61 | 18.31 | 1.18 | 0.27 | 1.23% |
| Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc | RBA | 49.51 | 25.76 | 1.36 | 1.07 | 2.16% |
| Royal Bank of Canada | RY | 82.08 | 9.12 | 9 | 4.32 | 5.26% |
| Saputo Inc | SAP | 34.57 | 22.3 | 1.55 | 0.68 | 1.97% |
| Savaria Corp | SIS | 10.02 | 18.91 | 0.53 | 0.46 | 4.59% |
| Secure Energy Services Inc | SES | 1.17 | 118.33 | 0.01 | 0.27 | 23.08% |
| Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc | ZZZ | 9.49 | 6.37 | 1.49 | 0.78 | 8.22% |
| Smartcentres Real Estate Investment Trust | SRU.UN | 17.96 | 9.68 | 1.86 | 1.85 | 10.30% |
| Stantec Inc | STN | 36.92 | 21.22 | 1.74 | 0.62 | 1.68% |
| Stella Jones Inc | SJ | 29.82 | 12.58 | 2.37 | 0.60 | 2.01% |
| Summit Industrial Income REIT | SMU.UN | 8.05 | 6.3 | 1.28 | 0.54 | 6.71% |
| Sun Life Financial Inc | SLF | 42.43 | 9.64 | 4.4 | 2.20 | 5.19% |
| Suncor Energy Inc | SU | 22.98 | 12.35 | 1.86 | 1.86 | 8.09% |
| Tc Energy Corp | TRP | 60.65 | 14.2 | 4.27 | 3.24 | 5.34% |
| Teck Resources | TECK.B | 10.07 | N/A | -1.08 | 0.20 | 1.99% |
| Telus Corp | T | 22.28 | 15.37 | 1.45 | 1.17 | 5.23% |
| Tfi International Inc | TFII | 29.18 | 7.68 | 3.63 | 1.04 | 3.56% |
| The North West Company Inc | NWC | 21.43 | 13.23 | 1.62 | 1.32 | 6.16% |
| Thomson Reuters Corp | TRI | 93.79 | 21.27 | 3.11 | 2.17 | 2.31% |
| Toromont Ind | TIH | 59.24 | 16.97 | 3.49 | 1.24 | 2.09% |
| Toronto-Dominion Bank | TD | 55.79 | 8.47 | 6.59 | 3.16 | 5.66% |
| Transalta Renewables Inc | RNW | 13.86 | 20.38 | 0.68 | 0.94 | 6.78% |
| Transcontinental Inc Cl A Sv | TCL.A | 11.79 | 7.21 | 1.65 | 0.90 | 7.57% |
| Uni Select Inc | UNS | 4.54 | N/A | -0.47 | 0.37 | 8.15% |
| Weston George | WN | 101.22 | 80.33 | 1.26 | 2.10 | 2.07% |
About The Canadian Dividend Aristocrats Index
According to the S&P, to be included in the S&P/TSX Canadian Dividend Aristocrats Index, companies must meet, among other things, the following criteria:
- Must be a common stock or income trust listed on the TSX and S&P Canada BMI;
- Increased ordinary cash dividends every year for 5 years;
- Minimum market capitalization of C$300 million.
About The Simply Investing Report
The Simply Investing Report is even more discriminating than Dividend Aristocrats. It analyzes more than 220 North American dividend stocks, and applies the 12 Rules of Simply Investing to each one. For our list, I’ve only included Canadian stocks from the SI Investing Report with an SI Criteria score of over 7.
Investors can sign up to receive the monthly SI Investing Report (15% off with coupon code MAPLEMONEY15). According to founder Kanwal Sarai, stocks held in the Simply Investing portfolio have gained more than 322% since 1999, compared to a total stock market return of 146% during the same period. For more information, head to Simply Investing. You can also listen to my recent interview with Kanwal on The MapleMoney Show, where he discusses the 12 Rules of Simply Investing.
How Do I Invest In Dividend Stocks?
There are a few ways in which you can invest in dividend stocks. While experienced investors may opt to purchase individual stocks for their dividend portfolio, beginner investors can achieve instant diversification through broad index based mutual funds or exchange traded funds (ETF).
There are plenty of funds available that focus specifically on dividend-paying companies. Another benefit to this passive investment strategy is that it’s highly cost-efficient. The management fees (MERs) of most index funds are well under 1.00% annually, while ETFs are even cheaper, with many charging less than .10% per year.
Dividend Investing With an Online Broker
Whether you are wanting to buy ETFs, or purchase individual dividend stocks of companies featured on our top 100 list, the way to do it is by opening a discount brokerage account. These are available from all Canadian banks, as well as a number of independent firms, like Questrade, which happens to be our top choice here at MapleMoney.
When you open an account with Questrade, you’ll benefit from free ETF purchases as well as a robust trading platform, while relative newcomer Wealthsimple Trade offers 100% free trades on ETFs and dividend stocks through their mobile trading app. For more information, check out our full Canadian discount brokerage review, updated for 2020.
Dividend Investing 2020 Summary
As you know, so far in 2020 the world has experienced unprecedented market volatility, unlike anything most of us have ever seen before. As a result, many North American dividend stocks are well undervalued, presenting long term investors with a unique buying opportunity, and making it an ideal time to embrace a dividend investing strategy. If you’re interested in dividend investing, our top 100 list offers a perfect starting point.
That said, the most important advice I can give you is to always keep a long term mindset. The stock market is never a place to invest short term savings, such as your emergency fund. However, if you have funds to invest for 10+ years, now is the time to get started with dividend investing.
