Enbridge vs Suncor: The Dividend Pick I’d Own Through 2026

If you can only own one Canadian energy stock for dividend income right now, make it Enbridge (TSX:ENB). Its yield is nearly double Suncor’s, its dividend track record spans three decades of uninterrupted annual increases, and its fee-based business model keeps cash flowing regardless of oil prices.

Suncor (TSX:SU) is a blue-chip TSX dividend stock with strong momentum, but it is a different kind of investment entirely. Here is why the distinction matters, and how to decide which one belongs in your portfolio.

Enbridge vs. Suncor: Which is the better dividend stock?

It is tempting to lump Enbridge and Suncor together. Both are Canadian energy giants and pay dividends to shareholders. Notably, both showed up at their respective shareholder and analyst events in May 2026 with confidence in their outlooks.

Enbridge operates the largest crude oil pipeline network in North America, serves over seven million natural gas utility customers, and generates the bulk of its revenue from long-term, take-or-pay contracts.

When a barrel of oil moves through an Enbridge pipeline, the company gets paid whether the price is $50 or $100. Basically, Enbridge operates on a business model that generates steady cash flows across business cycles.

Suncor, however, produces energy. It drills wells, upgrades bitumen, refines crude, and sells fuel at Petro-Canada stations. Its earnings are directly tied to commodity prices, making it a volatile and cyclical stock. In Q1, Suncor generated $4 billion in adjusted funds from operations, up 32% year over year, driven by higher oil prices.

Enbridge’s CEO, Greg Ebel, confirmed that the company sanctioned its 31st consecutive annual dividend increase in December 2025, a 3% raise for 2026. Enbridge currently pays an annual dividend of $3.88 per share, with a yield of approximately 5.2%, making it attractive for income-seeking investors.

Ebel noted that leverage remains within the targeted range of 4.5 to 5 times debt-to-EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization), which protects the dividend even if conditions tighten.

And with a $39 billion project backlog extending through the end of the decade, covering natural gas, liquids, and renewable power, there is a clear path to further growing that payout.

In Q1, Suncor’s upstream production rose to 875,000 barrels per day, its highest first quarter on record. Refining throughput came in at 498,000 barrels per day, also a record first quarter. Product sales hit 681,000 barrels per day, the highest of any quarter ever.

Suncor currently pays an annual dividend of about $2.40 per share, indicating a yield of roughly 2.6%, and has increased its dividend for four consecutive years.

That is meaningful progress, especially given the company slashed its dividend during the 2020 downturn. Management has clearly rebuilt both the business and investor trust.

Suncor’s payout ratio sits around 47%, leaving plenty of room for future increases. The buyback program is also aggressive: $350 million per month as of April 2026, per CFO Troy Little’s comments on the earnings call.

Suncor is returning cash to shareholders at an impressive clip. It just does so in a commodity-linked way, introducing more variability than Enbridge’s model.

The verdict for 2026 and beyond

If your goal is a steady, growing income that does not keep you up at night when oil prices drop, Enbridge wins this comparison.

It offers a tasty yield, a dividend backed by infrastructure contracts rather than commodity prices, and a three-decade track record of annual increases, making it one of the most dependable dividend stocks in Canada.

If you are comfortable with some commodity exposure and want a stock that can generate serious capital gains on top of a growing dividend, Suncor deserves a serious look.

The post Enbridge vs Suncor: The Dividend Pick I’d Own Through 2026 appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.

Should you invest $1,000 in Enbridge right now?

Before you buy stock in Enbridge, consider this:

The Motley Fool Canada team has identified what they believe are the top 10 TSX stocks for 2026… and Enbridge wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could potentially produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider MercadoLibre, which we first recommended on January 8, 2014 … if you invested $1,000 in the “eBay of Latin America” at the time of our recommendation, you’d have over $18,000!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor Canada’s total average return is 94%* – a market-crushing outperformance compared to 85%* for the S&P/TSX Composite Index. Don’t miss out on our top 10 stocks, available when you join our mailing list!

Get the 10 stocks instantly #start_btn6 { background: #0e6d04 none repeat scroll 0 0; color: #fff; font-size: 1.2em; font-family: 'Montserrat', sans-serif; font-weight: 600; height: auto; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 30px 0; max-width: 350px; text-align: center; width: auto; box-shadow: 0 1px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5), 0 1px 0 #fff inset, 0 0 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); border-radius: 5px; } #start_btn6 a { color: #fff; display: block; padding: 20px; padding-right:1em; padding-left:1em; } #start_btn6 a:hover { background: #FFE300 none repeat scroll 0 0; color: #000; } @media (max-width: 480px) { div#start_btn6 { font-size:1.1em; max-width: 320px;} } margin_bottom_5 { margin-bottom:5px; } margin_top_10 { margin-top:10px; }

* Returns as of April 20th, 2026

More reading

• How to Make Your Money Last Through 30 Years of Retirement
• How to Bridge the Gap When CPP and OAS Won’t Cover Your Expenses
• 3 Dividend Stocks Every Canadian Should Consider Owning
• 1 High-Yield Dividend Stock You Can Buy and Hold for a Decade
• Here’s How Much You May Need in Your TFSA to Retire – and 3 Stocks That Could Help

Fool contributor Aditya Raghunath has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Enbridge. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.