Enbridge continues to invest heavily in its pipelines and other businesses. Since 2008, it has started up over $12 billion worth of new growth projects. That’s equal to 39% of its market cap.

The company now wants to take advantage of rising oil sands production by building the Northern Gateway pipeline, which would pump crude oil from Edmonton to a proposed …read more »

Ten oil sands operators have already agreed to use Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline, which would let them ship more of their oil to Asia. These companies have also pledged a total of $200 million to fund the new line’s initial development and engineering.

Enbridge has not said which oil companies have committed to the pipeline, but this group likely includes Suncor, …read more »

BELL ALIANT INC. $28 (Toronto symbol BA, Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 229.1 million; Market cap: $6.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.3; Dividend yield: 6.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.bellaliant.ca) sells telephone and Internet services to 2.6 million customers in Atlantic Canada, as well as rural parts of Ontario and Quebec. The company also sells wireless services through an alliance …read more »

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $52 (Toronto symbol BNS; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.1 billion; Market cap: $57.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; Dividend yield: 4.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.scotiabank.com) is raising $1.7 billion by selling up to 33 million common shares for $50.25 each. The bank is also thinking about selling Scotia Plaza, its 68-storey office tower …read more »

ENCANA CORP. $19 (Toronto symbol ECA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 736.3 million; Market cap: $14.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.8; Dividend yield: 4.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.encana.com) is one of North America’s largest natural gas producers. The company prefers to focus on large unconventional reserves, including shale gas, which is natural gas that is trapped in rock formations. …read more »

All of our real estate investment trust (REIT) recommendations have moved up in the past year, but we still think they offer attractive long-term returns at relatively low risk. RioCan is particularly appealing because of its high-quality properties, reliable tenants and high occupancy rates.

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $25.79 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units outstanding: 267.0 million; Market cap: $6.9 billion; …read more »

PENGROWTH ENERGY CORP. $9.98 (Toronto symbol PGF; Shares outstanding: 329.3 million; Market cap: $3.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 8.4%; www.pengrowth.com) has improved its dividend
reinvestment plan (DRIP).

The company is now giving investors who are enrolled in the plan two options: they can reinvest their dividends in additional shares at a 5% discount to the market price, or they can …read more »

Ottawa’s tax on income trust distributions took effect over a year ago, on January 1, 2011.

Most trusts have already converted to corporations in response. Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are exempt, however, so they will remain as trusts.

All but one of our trust recommendations have converted. We still like the long-term outlook for all these picks, and we see them …read more »

TRANSCANADA CORP. $41.29 (Toronto symbol TRP; Shares outstanding: 704.0 million; Market cap: $29.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.1%; www.transcanada.com) is working to reroute its Keystone XL pipeline after the U.S. State Department rejected the company’s plan to cross environmentally sensitive areas in Nebraska. If approved, the pipeline could begin operating in 2014.

This setback may force TransCanada to …read more »

IMPERIAL OIL $47.67 (Toronto symbol IMO; Shares outstanding: 850.5 million; Market cap: $39.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 1.0%; www.imperialoil.ca) reports that its earnings rose 25.5% in the three months ended December 31, 2011, to $1.18 a share from $0.94 a share. Revenue rose 17.1%, to $8.1 billion from $6.9 billion.

Imperial has also raised its quarterly dividend by 9.1%, …read more »