There are some things that blue chips on the Toronto Stock Exchange have in common. They control important services, bring in steady cash flow, and have a long history of paying and raising dividends. There is a risk involved. They are made to grow over time instead of running through every quarter.
This guide lists ten TSX names that would be good for a long-term core allocation. There are banks, railroads, energy infrastructure, utilities, commodities, telecom, and alternative assets on the list. It’s for people who value resilience more than upside.
This is a good place to start. You need to find business models that fit with your time frame and how much risk you’re willing to take. Use the date above as a rough guide for yields and market caps.
Methodology
We looked at large and mega caps that had a lot of liquidity, strong competitive positions, and a history of giving money to shareholders. It’s important to have a good balance between different sectors, so the list doesn’t put too much emphasis on any one theme. We didn’t include companies that were clearly in trouble or had very little cash flow.
The numbers are close but not exact. They are more like prints than exact numbers. If a number is important and needs to be checked line by line, use official filings or company disclosures. This article is for information only and not for investment advice.
More Read
Top 10 Canadian Blue-Chip Stocks You Can Invest In 2025
Royal Bank of Canada (RY, TSX)
Quick Facts
- Banking Sector
- Market cap: about C$283 billion
- The dividend yield is about the middle of the single digits.
- Five-year trend: steady earnings power in both retail and capital markets
- Credit or balance sheet: a profile with a high investment grade
RBC is Canada’s largest retail bank and has important capital markets and wealth operations. Because it is so big, it can get money at a low cost and has room to invest in technology and compliance.
Businesses that charge fees and lend money in a disciplined way are what make the economy grow, not risky decisions made at the top of the cycle.
More Read
Keep an eye on the quality of the credit, the amount of capital needed, and the balance between interest and fee income. Over time, the draw is a steady dividend, measured buybacks, and access to a wide range of economic sectors.
Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD, TSX)
Quick Facts
- Banking Sector
- Market cap: around C$177 billion
- Dividend yield: about 5% to 7%
- Five-year trend: strong franchise with a big presence in the U.S.
- Credit or balance sheet: a profile with a high investment grade
TD has a strong base in Canada and a large retail banking platform in the U.S. That ability to reach across borders helps spread out earnings across different interest rate regimes and regional cycles.
The investment case is based on careful underwriting and a large number of daily banking transactions.
Net interest margins, credit costs, and U.S. growth are the most important factors. The bank’s strong balance sheet and history of paying dividends make it a good choice for core portfolios over time.
Canadian National Railway (CNR, TSX)
Quick Facts
More Read
- Rail and logistics are the sectors.
- The market cap is about C$83 billion.
- Low to mid-single digits for dividend yield
- Five-year trend: steady network investment and discipline in operations
- Credit or balance sheet: a strong investment grade
CN has a network that goes all the way from ports on three coasts. Cash generation depends on pricing power, reliable service, and a lean operating model. The business gets a lot of business from North American trade flows, including shipments of food, energy, intermodal, and industrial goods.
Canadian National plans to spend C$3.4 billion to increase rail capacity.
Investors should keep an eye on the speed of cars, service metrics, and prices compared to inflation. CN’s mix of efficiency and growth projects supports buybacks and a growing dividend over time.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP, TSX)
Quick Facts
- Rail and logistics are the sectors.
- The market cap is about C$97 billion.
- Dividend yield: low
- Five-year trend: growth through adding more networks and making them work together
- Investment grade with integration spend on the credit or balance sheet
CPKC runs the first single-line railroad that connects Canada, the US, and Mexico. The merger made new service lanes for cars, grain, intermodal, and energy. The thesis examines synergy capture, cross-border demand, and service innovation.
Keep an eye on the progress of the integration, the reliability of the service, and the costs of the capital. The dividend isn’t very high, but reinvesting and using operating leverage can increase value over time.
Enbridge (ENB, TSX)
Quick Facts
- Field: Energy infrastructure
- Market cap: C$145 billion or so
- Dividend yield: usually high for a utility that runs pipelines
- Five-year trend: cash flows that are stable and backed by contracts
- Credit or balance sheet: investment grade, with close monitoring of leverage
Enbridge owns pipelines, storage, and a growing gas utility footprint for liquids and gas. Long-term contracts and regulated frameworks make up a lot of its cash flow. The company wants to see steady growth in dividends, with a focus on projects that are less risky.
Should You Put Money into Enbridge?
Investors should pay attention to how projects are carried out, the results of regulations, and the amount of debt on the balance sheet. The appeal is money plus extra growth from safe capital projects.
Fortis (FTS, TSX)
Quick Facts
- Sector: Utilities that are regulated
- Value of the market: about C$34 billion
- The dividend yield is about the middle of the single digits.
- Five-year trend: steady growth in the rate base
- Credit or balance sheet: good for investments, safe for loans
Fortis runs regulated electric and gas companies in Canada, the US, and the Caribbean. Regulated returns and a multi-year capital plan help keep earnings steady and dividends growing over time.
Allowable returns, execution of the capital program, and regulatory settlements are all important. Fortis is a simple building block for defensive income in a core Canadian sleeve.
Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ, TSX)
Quick Facts
- Sector: Finding and making energy
- Market cap: about C$89 billion
- Dividend yield: usually in the middle of the single digits, but extra payments are possible.
- Five-year trend: free cash flow is going up while capital returns are steady.
- Investment grade with clear debt targets for credit or balance sheet
Because CNQ has a lot of oil sands and conventional assets, it doesn’t need much capital to keep going and makes a lot of free cash flow at mid-cycle prices. After paying for the core business, management focuses on returns to shareholders through dividends and buybacks.
Keep an eye on the prices of goods, maintenance turnarounds, and how you spend your money. CNQ goes through cycles, but long-term investors like its cost structure and focus on capital return.
Nutrien (NTR, TSX)
Quick Facts
- Field: Retail of fertilizers and farming
- The market cap is about C$39 billion.
- The dividend yield is usually in the middle of the single digits.
- Five-year trend: earnings that go up and down, with global potash leadership
- Investment grade: credit or balance sheet
Nutrien is a company that sells potash, nitrogen, and has a large network of farms and stores. That mix gives crop cycles and input prices more power while still giving customers a way to talk to you. The story is about balanced capital returns and disciplined growth over time.
Keep an eye on changes in the supply of potash, planting seasons, and the cost of inputs. Expect earnings to change, but the long-term need for crop productivity stays strong.
Brookfield Corporation (BN, TSX)
Quick Facts
- Sector: Alternative assets and a company that holds them
- Market cap: about C$137 billion
- The dividend yield is low.
- Five-year trend: more fee-bearing capital and operating platforms
- Credit or balance sheet: access to permanent and non-recourse capital
Brookfield manages platforms in real assets, private equity, infrastructure, and renewable energy. The company makes money from performance fees, carried interest, and owning shares in businesses that are already running. It gives you a variety of ways to get to private market themes from a public listing.
Interest rate sensitivity and deal activity cycles are two risks. The draw is long-term assets, business know-how, and different ways to make money.
BCE Inc. (BCE, TSX)
Quick Facts
- Telecom sector
- The market cap is about C$34 billion.
- Dividend yield: usually high for the industry
- Five-year trend: a lot of money is going into fibre and wireless to protect cash flows.
- Credit or balance sheet: investment grade, with leverage linked to network builds
BCE is a national telecom company that offers wireline, wireless, and media services. Fibre to the home and 5G capacity need big investments, but they are the foundation of future service quality and customer retention. The company finds a balance between its need for investment and its large dividend.
Keep an eye on subscriber trends, prices, spectrum costs, and government decisions. BCE gives investors who want to make money access to an important utility-like service with known capital needs.
How to Get a Position
Start with position sizes that don’t let any one name have too much of an effect on your outcome. Instead of buying everything at once, a lot of investors buy things in steps over time. Rebalance every year so that winners don’t take over diversification. Think about how dividends are taxed and how tax wrappers work where you live. Keep cash on hand for chances that come up during times of volatility.
What Could Change the List and What Could Go Wrong
This group cares about rate paths, rules, and the prices of goods. Banks respond to rules about capital and credit costs. Rails move based on the needs of industry and service metrics.
Names for energy and fertilizer change with changes in global prices and policies. Telecoms and utilities depend on how regulations turn out and how much money they need. If a company’s balance sheet risk goes up, its dividend policy becomes unstable, or its core competitive edge starts to fade, it can be taken off this list.
Things You Shouldn’t Do
Don’t try to get yield without first reading how it is funded. If a payout looks high but isn’t backed up by cash flow from a variety of situations, it could be a sign of trouble. The health of the balance sheet is more important than the distribution for a single year.
Don’t put too much focus on one theme. You can have two rails, a bank, and a pipeline at the same time, but if the rest of your portfolio is similar to those exposures, you’ll still be exposed to the same macro winds. Sector balance is an easy way to cut down on surprises.
Don’t forget about money. A stronger or weaker Canadian dollar can make returns bigger or smaller for investors who live outside of Canada. Set your expectations in your own currency and look at the past through that lens.
Canadian blue chips get their name because they do well over time and through different market cycles. This basket has everything you need for services, infrastructure, global trade, and cash distribution in one country.
Build up slowly, pay attention to the few things that really matter to each business, and let time do more of the work than timing.
