Staples-First Strategy: Steady Your Portfolio in 2026 With 2 Consumer-Defensive Stocks

Market analysts note some cautious trading on the TSX as 2025 draws to a close. Canada’s main stock exchange still sits nearly 32,000 despite a slight 0.18%dip during the shortened Christmas Eve session.

However, if you think the broad market can’t sustain the momentum, pivoting toward a staples-first strategy is a smart move. The consumer staples sector (+15.5% return thus far) weathered market headwinds for most of the year.

Looking ahead to 2026, The North West Company (TSX:NWC) and Maple Leaf Foods (TSX:MFI) stand out as reliable safety nets in an overextended market.

Retail utility

NWC operates in some of the most challenging regions on the planet. The $2.3 billion company provides essential food, healthcare, and financial services in hard-to-reach communities across northern Canada, Alaska, and the Caribbean.

You can say that NWC is more of a retail utility rather than a traditional retailer because of its unchallenged market position and geographic monopoly. All the stores are the only reliable source for everyday goods. Thus, NWC benefits from the persistent “inelastic” demand, regardless of economic conditions.

This consumer-defensive stock can be the anchor of your portfolio in 2026. The inelastic or sticky demand is a structural advantage for NWC; it is why the company is financially healthy and can comfortably sustain its quarterly dividend payments. At $49 per share, the dividend yield is 3.35%. NWC’s dividend track record is more than 30 years, while the dividend-growth streak is 12 years.

NWC is in the second year of its three-year “The Next 100” overhaul plan. Investing in business growth via store openings in new and existing markets is among the strategies. Building a superior logistics and supply chain capability aims to optimize the transportation mix and air cargo capability for faster, lower-cost service to stores and customers.    

Management said Next 100 touches on every aspect of the business, and should ramp up the annualized incremental EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) through 2025 and 2026 as the plan matures. The resiliency of NWC’s everyday product and service offering will continue to mitigate near-term uncertainty.

Solid defensive play

Maple Leaf Foods has become a solid defensive play due to the “Buy Canada” movement. Canadians will still buy its products whether there’s a recession or slow economic growth in 2026. The $3.1 billion consumer packaged goods (CPG) powerhouse no longer struggles with high input costs and margin pressure.

With capital spending declining and costs stabilizing, Maple Leaf can endure choppy markets. At $25.14 per share, current investors enjoy a nearly 50% return thus far, on top of a 3.62% dividend. Market analysts’ 12-month average price target is $33.88 (+35% upside).

Maple Leaf completed the spin-off of its pork business at the end of the third quarter (Q3) of 2025 and formed Canada Packers. Its president and CEO, Curtis Frank, said the separation was a defining moment. In the three months ending September 30, 2025, earnings increased 143.5% to $43.1 million compared with Q3 2024.

Frank added that Maple Leaf and Canada Packers look forward to a long-term partnership but will pursue their own growth paths.

Stability in volatility

NWC and Maple Leaf Foods are ideal staples-first stocks. The businesses won’t be affected by economic turbulence due to essential, if not non-disappearing, demand.

The post Staples-First Strategy: Steady Your Portfolio in 2026 With 2 Consumer-Defensive Stocks appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.

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More reading

• The Best Stocks to Invest $2,000 in a TFSA Right Now
• 2 TSX Giants to Buy and Hold for the Next 20 Years
• The Canadian Dividend Stock I’d Trust for the Next Decade

Fool contributor Christopher Liew has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends North West. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.