Why Canadian Stocks Are the World’s Best-Kept Secret

Canadian stocks might be the best major-market opportunity that most global investors rarely think about. Right now, the fundamentals lining up north of the border look too compelling to ignore.

Here’s why I think global investors should take a hard look at the equities Canada has to offer relative to other key developed markets like the U.S.

Valuations look reasonable

While U.S. benchmarks trade near premium multiples driven by a narrow group of mega-cap tech names, Canadian equities still change hands at a discount on earnings and cash flow. That gap isn’t just a chart curiosity. Rather, it’s the margin of safety long-term investors usually have to wait years to get.

In practical terms, you’re paying less for every dollar of earnings on the TSX than you are on the S&P 500, while getting comparable or better exposure to profitable, asset-heavy businesses like banks, pipelines, and utilities. That means investors looking for relatively undervalued stocks on a broad basis have few reasons not to look at Canadian stocks right now.

Dividend yields are strong

Income remains a core part of total returns, and this is where Canada quietly shines. A number of strategists have noted that the TSX’s dividend yield sits around 3%, roughly double that of the S&P 500.

There are reasons for this. Because Canada’s economy has such a strong tilt toward sectors like financials, energy, and utilities, high-dividend Canadian stocks have become a key focus for investors wanting stability and income.

With yields that typically compare favourably to U.S. peers, there are a number of companies in this sector that have delivered the decades of dividend growth investors are after. Thus, with improving balance sheets and strong growth outlooks, these defensive sectors are ones investors continue to seek out. I don’t see that trend changing anytime soon.

A sector mix built for durability

Finally, while some may suggest that Canada’s market often gets dismissed as “just banks and oil,” that shorthand misses why the index tends to hold up when momentum trades crack.

The TSX is more heavily weighted to dividend-paying, cash-generative sectors and less concentrated in richly valued tech. That provides this market with a starkly different factor profile than the S&P 500. That tilt also supported historic highs for Canadian stocks in 2025, as investors rotated toward income-oriented carry strategies, defensiveness, and real-asset exposure.

For investors worried about where we are in the cycle, that’s exactly the kind of ballast that can smooth out returns over time.

The post Why Canadian Stocks Are the World’s Best-Kept Secret appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.

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More reading

• 2 Canadian Stocks Primed to Surge in 2026
• 2 Stocks That Could Turn $100,000 Into $1 Million
• 2 Cheap Canadian Stocks to Pick Up Now
• TSX Today: What to Watch for in Stocks on Wednesday, February 25
• 3 Worry-Free, High-Yield Dividend Plays for 2026