2 Canadian Stocks Primed and Ready to Pop This Year

2026-03-17 15:30:00 ET

I’ve got a long list of top Canadian stocks I follow closely, many of which have performed very well in recent years. In fact, the two names I’m going to highlight in this piece have been on incredible tears of late.

With such impressive price performance, some investors may be thinking of taking capital off the table. Here’s why I think more in the way of gains (and dividend income in the case of one of these stocks) is more likely than not in the year ahead. In fact, if there were two top Canadian stocks with the kind of “pop” potential investors are looking for, these would likely be the top two names I’d encourage investors to consider.

Shopify

Shopify ( TSX:SHOP ) is a world-class e-commerce powerhouse that just won’t stop growing. Indeed, in terms of top-tier growth stocks in the market, Shopify continues to be one of my top picks right now.

There are certainly a number of solid reasons for this view. Most of my rationale stems from rock-solid operating fundamentals, which continue to impress in recent quarters.

This past quarter alone, Shopify saw its revenue skyrocket 31% year-over-year. These results were driven by merchant solutions (its high-margin SaaS goldmine), which grew 38% year-over-year. That fact alone proves businesses are flocking to its sticky platform, despite economic noise. Free cash flow hit $2 billion in 2025, fueling AI innovations like Sidekick that automate merchant ops and boost enterprise wins, while a $2 billion buyback is a strong signal of management confidence in these numbers continuing.

Don’t sleep on international expansion either. Shopify is cracking new markets with cross-channel tools, locking in customers via massive switching costs. At around $150 per share, I think much of the company’s future growth is being discounted by investors. That’s a discount I think is worth jumping on right now.

Enrbidge

Now, we come to Enbridge ( TSX:ENB ). This top-tier pipeline operator is the kind of cash flow machine most investors are after, and that underlying business model is one that remains among the most robust in the energy sector.

Amid raging energy demand from data centres, LNG exports, and industrialization, I think Enbridge stock is poised for big gains this year. Indeed, the company’s $39 billion growth backlog through 2033 locks in 5% annual EBITDA growth. And it’s worth noting that all these cash flows are backed by regulated pipelines and inflation-protected revenues that shrug off commodity swings.

Importantly, the company’s robust 5.3% dividend yield is among the best in the energy sector, particularly for a company of this size. And with three decades of annual dividend increases in the rear-view mirror, investors have good reason to believe that more in the way of dividends is on the horizon.

I think that as Enbridge acts on its $10 billion-plus annual investable capital buffer, with a number of organic growth projects on the horizon, investors should see more in the way of dividend growth and capital returns over time. For those looking to benefit from robust growth in a sector that’s highly defensive, Enbridge remains one of my top dividend stock picks to consider right now.

The post 2 Canadian Stocks Primed and Ready to Pop This Year appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada .

Fool contributor Chris MacDonald has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Shopify. The Motley Fool recommends Enbridge. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .

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