Blue chip stocks are the largest, most established companies on the TSX: the big banks, pipelines, utilities, railways, insurers and telecoms. This page lists them by sector, explains what makes a stock a blue chip, and compares a portfolio of them with an index fund. Yields and market values change daily; the figures below are a snapshot from TSX market data (TMX Money) on September 25, 2026, so check current figures before relying on them. Every other guide in this section is listed in the Canadian stocks hub.
Top Canadian Blue Chip Stocks
Big 5 Banks
The banks are covered in more depth, including National Bank, in our comparison of Canadian bank stocks.
| Company | Ticker | Market Cap | Dividend Yield | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Bank of Canada | RY | $396 billion | 2.5% | Banking |
| TD Bank | TD | $281 billion | 2.7% | Banking |
| Bank of Montreal | BMO | $170 billion | 2.8% | Banking |
| Bank of Nova Scotia | BNS | $161 billion | 3.5% | Banking |
| CIBC | CM | $147 billion | 2.7% | Banking |
From March 2020 until November 4, 2021, OSFI expected the banks it regulates not to increase their regular dividends. The banks’ current runs of dividend increases began after that restriction was lifted, so their streaks are shorter than those of the utilities and pipelines below.
Energy Infrastructure
Pipelines earn fees for moving oil and gas; producers such as CNQ and Suncor sell it, and are compared with their peers in our guide to Canadian oil stocks.
| Company | Ticker | Market Cap | Dividend Yield | Business |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enbridge | ENB | $147 billion | 5.8% | Natural gas, oil and renewable power networks; 31 consecutive years of dividend increases (through 2026) |
| TC Energy | TRP | $87 billion | 4.2% | Energy infrastructure in Canada, the US and Mexico |
| Pembina Pipeline | PPL | $37 billion | 4.6% | Energy transportation and midstream services |
| Canadian Natural Resources | CNQ | $139 billion | 3.7% | Oil and gas producer |
| Suncor Energy | SU | $114 billion | 2.5% | Integrated energy company |
Telecommunications
| Company | Ticker | Market Cap | Dividend Yield | Dividend status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BCE | BCE | $28 billion | 5.8% | Cut to $1.75 a year from $3.99, starting with the dividend paid July 15, 2025 |
| Telus | T | $19 billion | 6.2% | Quarterly dividend cut to $0.1875 from $0.4184, declared July 2026 |
| Rogers Communications | RCI.B | $19 billion | 4.4% | 50 cents a quarter, the same rate it declared in October 2021 |
Both BCE and Telus yields above reflect the reduced dividend, not the pre-cut figure.
Utilities
| Company | Ticker | Market Cap | Dividend Yield | Consecutive Increases |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fortis | FTS | $39 billion | 3.4% | 52 years (through 2025) |
| Canadian Utilities | CU | $10 billion | 3.6% | 54 years (through January 2026) |
| Emera | EMA | $21 billion | 4.3% | Regulated electric and gas utilities; headquartered in Halifax |
| Hydro One | H | $31 billion | 2.8% | Ontario’s largest electricity transmission and distribution provider |
Other Blue Chips
| Company | Ticker | Sector | Dividend Yield | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian National Railway | CNR | Rail | 2.2% | Freight railway across North America |
| Canadian Pacific Kansas City | CP | Rail | 0.9% | Describes itself as the only single-line railway linking Canada, the US and Mexico |
| Brookfield Asset Management | BAM | Asset management | 4.5% | Asset management |
| Manulife Financial | MFC | Insurance | 3.2% | Insurance and financial services |
| Sun Life Financial | SLF | Insurance | 3.4% | Insurance, wealth and asset management |
| Thomson Reuters | TRI | Information services | 2.6% | Information and technology for professionals |
| Waste Connections | WCN | Waste management | 0.9% | Waste management services |
| Loblaw | L | Grocery | 1.0% | Food and pharmacy retailer |
| Shopify | SHOP | E-commerce | None | Pays no dividend; a growth company, not an income stock |
What Makes a Stock Blue Chip
There is no official definition. These are the traits most lists look for:
| Criteria | Typical threshold |
|---|---|
| Market capitalization | Large-cap, often $10 billion or more |
| Dividend history | Consistent payments, ideally growing |
| Revenue stability | Predictable, recession-resistant |
| Balance sheet | Investment-grade credit rating |
| Market position | Dominant or oligopoly position |
| Track record | Many years as a public company |
| Liquidity | Heavy daily trading volume |
Blue Chip Dividend Portfolio Example
An illustration of the income from $100,000 spread across nine blue chips at the yields above. It is not a recommendation.
| Stock | Allocation | Yield | Annual Income per $100K |
|---|---|---|---|
| RY (Royal Bank) | 15% | 2.5% | $374 |
| ENB (Enbridge) | 15% | 5.8% | $869 |
| FTS (Fortis) | 10% | 3.4% | $341 |
| T (Telus) | 10% | 6.2% | $623 |
| CNR (CN Rail) | 10% | 2.2% | $216 |
| BMO (Bank of Montreal) | 10% | 2.8% | $283 |
| BNS (Scotiabank) | 10% | 3.5% | $350 |
| TRP (TC Energy) | 10% | 4.2% | $417 |
| BAM (Brookfield Asset Management) | 10% | 4.5% | $445 |
| Total | 100% | 3.9% | $3,917 |
Annual income = $100,000 × allocation × yield. Portfolio yield = total income ÷ $100,000.
Blue Chip Stocks vs Index Funds
| Factor | Blue Chip Portfolio | Index Fund (XIC / XEQT) |
|---|---|---|
| Diversification | Usually 10 to 20 stocks | XIC: 217 holdings; XEQT: about 8,294 underlying holdings |
| Stock-picking risk | Yes: individual companies can underperform | No single company decides the result |
| Dividend yield | Depends on the stocks you pick (see the example above) | XIC 1.96%, XEQT 1.57% (trailing 12 months) |
| Control over holdings | Full control | None: you get the index |
| Cost | Trading commissions only (many brokers charge none) | MER: XIC 0.06%, XEQT 0.19% |
| Rebalancing | Manual | Automatic |
| Tax efficiency | Canadian dividends qualify for the dividend tax credit | Canadian dividends paid through a Canadian ETF also qualify |
| Time required | Research + monitoring | Buy and hold |
Blue chips and the Dividend Aristocrats
Many Canadian blue chips also have long records of raising their dividends, which puts them on the S&P/TSX Canadian Dividend Aristocrats list. The utilities and pipelines have the longest streaks; the banks’ streaks restarted after the 2020 to 2021 restriction on dividend increases, and the telecoms’ ended with their recent cuts. The full list, with each company’s streak, is in our Canadian Dividend Aristocrats guide.
Risks of Blue Chip Investing
| Risk | Example |
|---|---|
| Not immune to decline | Even bank stocks fell sharply in the 2008 financial crisis and in March 2020 |
| Concentration risk | The TSX is weighted heavily toward financials and energy, so it is hard to diversify within Canada |
| Dividend cuts | Companies can and do cut dividends: BCE and Telus, long held as telecom income stocks, cut theirs in 2025 and 2026 |
| Sector disruption | Telecom and energy face long-term disruption risk |
| Underperformance | Some blue chips trail the index for years |
| Survivorship bias | Today’s blue chips won’t all be blue chips in 20 years |
Related Resources
Sources
The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them between September 26, 2026 and October 13, 2026. How we check facts.
- BlackRock iShares: iShares Core S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index ETF | XIC
- BlackRock iShares: iShares Core Equity ETF Portfolio | XEQT
- TMX Money: TMX Money | TSX Today | Canadian Stock Market