LOBLAW COMPANIES LTD. $59 is a buy. The supermarket operator (Toronto symbol L; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $70.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 1.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.loblaw.ca) recently opened three smaller stores in Ontario based on its popular “no name” private label brand. These outlets are much smaller than its regular stores and carry a limited selection of frozen and canned goods, and packaged bakery items. However, the stores

FirstService and Colliers tend to fuel their growth with acquisitions. However, that strategy is not as risky as it seems given both companies target smaller firms that expand their market share and geographic reach. What’s more, they seek prospective purchases with a high recurring revenue; that only enhances their long-term appeal.

Telus recently privatized its Telus International subsidiary and sold a stake in its cellphone tower network. These moves should improve its long-term profitability and let it keep raising your dividend.


TELUS CORP. $21 is your #1 Income Buy for 2025. The company (Toronto symbol T; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding:

ROYAL BANK OF CANADA $209 is a buy. The bank (Toronto symbol RY; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.4 billion; Market cap: $292.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.5; Dividend yield: 2.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.rbc.com) aims to expand its wealth management division, which now supplies about 20% of its earnings.

MAPLE LEAF FOODS INC. $24 is a hold. The company (Toronto symbol MFI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 123.9 million; Market cap: $3.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; Dividend yield: 3.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.mapleleaffoods.com) sells fresh and prepared meats under the Maple Leaf and Schneider labels. It also makes plant-based protein products under the Lightlife and Field Roast brands.

Here are three industrial stocks hitting new highs. Those gains are largely due to the Canadian government’s plan to increase spending on infrastructure projects, which will spur demand for Finning and Toromont’s construction equipment. The government is also eliminating the luxury tax on private jets, which should lead to more orders for Bombardier.


Even after their impressive rise, we still see two of the three as buys. However, we recommend investors cap their exposure to the cyclical Manufacturing sector at a third or less of their portfolio.

CENOVUS ENERGY INC. $25 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol CVE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $45.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield 3.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average;

Despite the impact of U.S. tariffs on freight volumes, we continue to recommend all investors own at least one of Canada’s railways—Canadian National or Canadian Pacific Kansas City—given their importance to the national economy.


While CN’s shares are down about 5% since the start of 2025, we feel the stock remains an appealing buy. That’s because the company’s strong focus on efficiency should spur its earnings growth over the next few years.

Exchange-traded funds are set up to mirror the performance of a stock-market index or sub-index. They hold a more or less fixed selection of securities that represent the holdings of that index or sub-index and will allow the fund to “track” its performance.


The MER (Management Expense Ratio) is generally much lower on traditional ETFs than on conventional mutual funds. That’s because most traditional ETFs take a much simpler approach to investing. Instead of actively managing clients’ investments, ETF providers invest so as to mirror the holdings and performance of a particular stock-market index.



ETFs practice this “passive” fund management style, in contrast to the “active” management that conventional mutual funds traditionally provide at much higher costs.

Canadian banks and insurance companies have delivered strong performances over the past year, beating the main stock market indexes and their U.S. peers by a considerable margin. Over the longer term, U.S. Financial Services (banks, insurers, and financial services combined) have also performed better than the S&P 500 index.


Great performance by Canadian banks and insurers



The graph below highlights the strong share price performance of the Canadian banks and insurers over the past one and five years. The last year has been particularly good for Canadian financials, with their 34% return easily beating their U.S. counterparts.