Investing in blue chip stocks can be a great way to add solid, profitable companies to your Canadian stock portfolio.
While the share prices of blue chip stocks tend to be more expensive, you do get the security of owning stable companies with high cash flow.
Blue chip Canadian stocks often payout generous dividend yields that bring added income to your portfolio. This makes these stocks excellent companies to buy and hold forever.
In this article, I will introduce you to 15 of the best Canadian blue chip stocks for 2024.
What are Canadian Blue Chip Stocks?
Blue chip stocks are named this way because blue chips are of the highest value in the game of poker. Canadian blue chip stocks that trade on the TSX include companies from the financial, energy, and asset management industries.
In general, Canadian blue chip companies have little to no debt on their balance sheets, a high market capitalization, and high cash flow and profitability.
What exactly do you want to look for in a blue chip stock? At the stage of the business cycles that these companies are in, you aren’t looking for long-term capital growth.
Instead, look for stocks that are industry leaders with a proven track record of profitability and the ability to increase dividend yields over time.
Top Blue Chip Stocks in Canada
These are some of the best blue-chip stocks in Canada. Data current as of January 2023.
Royal Bank of Canada
- Symbol: RY.TO
- Sector: Financials
- Dividend Yield: 3.93%
- P/E Ratio: 12.16
- Market Cap: $185 billion
Royal Bank of Canada is one of Canada’s largest banks by assets under management and one of its oldest banks, having been founded in 1864.
It is one of the top ten largest banks in the world, with over 17 million clients across 29 different countries.
Since 2011, RY has had a 9.0% CAGR in its dividend yield, with an average dividend payout ratio of 46% during that time period.
RY has a healthy balance sheet with over $743 billion in cash on hand. It also has a profit margin of 32.56% and a 15.28% return on equity.
As Royal Bank continues to expand its operations worldwide, the company and shareholder equity should also continue to grow.
Fortis, Inc.
- Symbol: FTS.TO
- Sector: Utilities
- Dividend Yield: 4.05%
- P/E Ratio: 20.68
- Market Cap: $26.75 billion
Fortis is a Newfoundland-based utility company that provides electricity to major markets across Canada.
FTS is a dividend juggernaut as the company has raised its dividend yield for 49 consecutive years and has a 4 to 6% annual growth guidance for its dividend through 2027.
For 2023, Fortis unveiled a new plan of investment into renewable energies. It will spend nearly $6 billion on clean energy initiatives and infrastructure by 2027.
The company has $2.92 billion in trailing 12-month operating cash flow, with a 12.92% profit margin.
Pembina Pipelines
- Symbol: PPL.TO
- Sector: Pipelines
- Dividend Yield: 5.40%
- P/E Ratio: 10.04
- Market Cap: $26.5 billion
Pembina is a Calgary-based oil and natural gas pipeline company that was founded in 1954.
The company has a great dividend history and has raised its payout yearly since 1998.
It operates more than 18,000 kilometres of pipelines, primarily in Western Canada. Pembina also owns gas gathering facilities and is well diversified outside of its pipeline business.
Along with TC Energy and Enbridge, Pembina is one of the largest and most successful pipeline companies in Canada.
It has a trailing 12-month operating cash flow of $2.72 billion and a 5-year average dividend yield of 5.90% with a payout ratio of 52.55%.
Brookfield Asset Management Inc.
- Symbol: BN.TO
- Sector: Asset Management
- Dividend Yield: 1.58%
- P/E Ratio: 17.31
- Market Cap: 79.10 billion
Formerly known as Brookfield Asset Management, the Brookfield Corporation is a Toronto-based global alternative investment management company that was founded in 1899.
It has several subsidiaries under its corporate umbrella that also trade on the TSX, including Brookfield Business Partners, Brookfield Renewable Partners, and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners. In total, Brookfield owned over $725 billion in assets at the end of 2022.
The company is a financial juggernaut with a trailing-12 month revenue of $93.32 billion and a trailing 12-month operating cash flow of $8.04 billion.
While Brookfield’s dividend yield is lower than other stocks on this list, perhaps no company has the potential for greater long-term capital growth.
Constellation Software Inc.
- Symbol: CSU.TO
- Sector: Software
- Dividend Yield: 0.23%
- P/E Ratio: 75.77
- Market Cap: $49 billion
Constellation Software Inc is a diversified software company that was founded in 1995 by the current Chairman of the company, Mark Leonard.
It is not a traditional tech company, rather it is more like a venture capital business that acquires start-up software companies and holds them for the long term.
The company operates six distinct divisions that provide software and other services to both public and private companies.
You may notice that the stock price is quite high, while the dividend yield is at 0.23%, which yields about $1.34 per share each quarter.
BCE, Inc
- Symbol: BCE.TO
- Sector: Telecommunications
- Dividend Yield: 5.90%
- P/E Ratio: 20.18
- Market Cap: $56.75 billion
BCE is one of the big three telecommunications companies in Canada, along with Rogers and Telus.
The company has three main subsidiaries: Bell Canada, Bell Mobility, and Bell Media.
It has been a dividend-paying machine and has raised it by 5% or more for 15 consecutive years and offers a current annualized yield of 5.90%.
With over 23.5 million customers across Canada, Bell is the primary provider of services in Ontario and Quebec but operates throughout the country.
Manulife Financial Corp
- Symbol: MFC.TO
- Sector: Insurance
- Dividend Yield: 5.18%
- P/E Ratio: 6.79
- Market Cap: $47.5 billion
Manulife Financial Corp is a Canadian multinational insurance and financial services company. It was founded in 1887 and is headquartered out of Toronto, Ontario.
With over 38,000 employees and 38 million customers worldwide, Manulife is the largest insurance company in Canada.
The company has a trailing 12-month operating cash flow of $19.48 billion and a five-year average annual dividend yield of 5.05%. It also has a very healthy dividend payout ratio of 4.64%.
Enbridge Inc
- Symbol: ENB.TO
- Sector: Oil
- Dividend Yield: 6.34%
- P/E Ratio: 20.67
- Market Cap: $113 billion
Enbridge is a Calgary-based oil pipeline company that was established in 1949 and trades on the TSX.
It is considered the largest Canadian oil company, with a trailing 12-month revenue of $52.4 billion as of January 2023.
The company is also establishing itself as a renewable energy player with wind farms, solar parks, and hydroelectric projects as well.
Enbridge has over 28,660 km of oil and natural gas pipelines across North America, making it one of the largest pipeline companies in the world.
Telus Corporation
- Symbol: T.TO
- Sector: Telecommunication
- Dividend Yield: 4.93%
- P/E Ratio: 19.63
- Market Cap: $40.52 billion
Telus is one of the largest telecommunications companies in Canada and owns a large share of the market in Western Canada.
The company has several subsidiaries in its corporate structure, including Telus Mobility, Telus Internet, Telus TV, and Telus Health.
As of January 2023, Telus serves over 15 million Canadian customers across its various segments. It pays a generous dividend yield of 4.93% with a payout ratio of 91.23% to its shareholders.
Toronto Dominion Bank
- Symbol: TD.TO
- Sector: Financial
- Dividend Yield: 4.31%
- P/E Ratio: 9.42
- Market Cap: $162 billion
The Toronto Dominion Bank is one of Canada’s two largest banks by assets under management and is one of the largest banks in the world.
In 2019 it was designated to be a global systemically important bank and has over 26 million customers worldwide.
Like other big banks, TD is a dividend-paying machine with a 4.31% yield and a very reasonable 37.59% payout ratio.
TD continues to grow globally and competes with the Royal Bank of Canada for the title of Canada’s largest bank by assets.
Barrick Gold Corporation
- Symbol: ABX.TO
- Sector: Gold
- Dividend Yield: 2.14%
- P/E Ratio: 17.68
- Market Cap: $44.61 billion
Barrick Gold is one of the world’s largest gold and copper miners and is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario.
It operates 21 different projects across 18 countries on four different continents with six Tier-One gold mines.
The company is a high-margin business with trailing 12-month revenues of nearly $12 billion.
Barrick again raised its dividend this past year and has a payout ratio of 45.79%.
TC Energy Corporation
- Symbol: TRP.TO
- Sector: Oil Pipelines
- Dividend Yield: 6.20%
- P/E Ratio: 17.89
- Market Cap: $58.9 billion
TC Energy is a Calgary-based energy infrastructure company that trades on the TSX and was founded in 1951.
The company is well diversified with oil pipelines, natural gas, and renewable energy sources in its portfolio, as well as recently adding hydrogen projects.
It has a high-margin business with a 22.76% profit margin on trailing 12-month revenues of $14.6 billion.
TRP has increased its dividend payout for 22 consecutive years and has a payout ratio of 109.85%.
Canadian Natural Resources Limited
- Symbol: CNQ.TO
- Sector: Oil
- Dividend Yield: 4.21%
- P/E Ratio: 7.87
- Market Cap: $89.19 billion
Canadian Natural Resources is Canada’s largest producer of heavy crude oil and operates primarily out of Western Canada.
The company also produces liquid natural gas and light crude oil, and thermal wells in the Alberta oil fields.
CNQ has increased its dividend payout for 23 consecutive years and currently has an annualized dividend of $3.40 per share.
Bank of Nova Scotia
- Symbol: BNS.TO
- Sector: Financials
- Dividend Yield: 5.95%
- P/E Ratio: 8.62
- Market Cap: $82.43 billion
The Bank of Nova Scotia is another of Canada’s big banks and was established way back in 1832.
Scotiabank, as it is also known, has over 23 million global customers, with over 10 million of those in Canada.
The stock has a 5-year average annual dividend yield of 4.92% and a payout ratio of 50.62% to its shareholders.
How To Buy Canadian Blue Chip Stocks in 2024
In 2023, it’s easy to buy Canadian blue-chip stocks on discount brokerages to save on trading fees in a completely digital trading experience. My top three choices for Canadian discount brokerages are:
Questrade
This is Canada’s best discount brokerage. It has a highly-rated desktop and mobile platform that provides Canadian investors access to stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, and more.
Investing with Questrade is cheaper than many big bank brokerages, as equity trades cost as little as $0.01 per share with a minimum cost of $4.95.
Questrade
Trade stocks, ETFs, options, FX, bonds, CFDs, mutual funds, etc.
Get $50 trade credit with $1,000 funding
Low and competitive trading fees
No quarterly inactivity fees
Access to advanced tools and trading data
Top platform for advanced traders
Transfer fees waived
Wealthsimple Trade
Wealthsimple is a popular Canadian financial services platform that offers stock, ETF, mutual fund, and cryptocurrency trading for Canadian investors.
The platform is especially popular amongst new and younger investors because of its zero-commission trading platform.
Wealthsimple Trade
Trade stocks, ETFs, and options
Excellent trading platform for beginners
Deposit $150+ to get a $25 cash bonus
Transfer fees waived up to $150
CIBC Investor’s Edge
This brokerage is a part of the CIBC financial ecosystem, but investing with CIBC Investor’s Edge is not priced like the big banks.
Canadian investors can buy stocks for as little as $6.95 per trade, and as low as $4.95 for active investors and even free for students and investors under the age of 25.
Are Blue Chip Stocks a Good Investment?
Blue chip stocks in Canada are a great investment for long-term, diversified portfolios.
Our list of blue chip stocks includes companies across several different sectors, but what they all have in common are high cash flow, profitability, and dividend payouts to shareholders.
These Canadian blue chip stocks are excellent ways to hedge against market volatility, especially in times of a recession or a bear market for stocks.
All of these blue chip stocks can be bought on any Canadian discount brokerage, like Wealthsimple Trade, CIBC Investor’s Edge, or Questrade, where you can save on trading commissions and fees.
Related: Here’s how to day trade in Canada.
