Optimism #96 - April 14, 2026
Dear clients and friends,
It’s now been six years since we started Optimism, during the depths of Covid, when stocks were cheap and few were optimistic.
Many of you listened and are well ahead of schedule, financially speaking.
Just off the phone with … let’s call her Betty from Victoria, not her real name of course.
She is 90 now.
We first spoke in 2003 about owning dividends stocks. She invested $11,000 back then, unsure if she could trust our banks, pipelines and utilities. She invested more in the downturn of 2009.
Including dividends, the initial investment has become hundreds of thousands of dollars. Betty looks back and kicks herself for not buying more. She says, Royal Bank was 33$ at the time. Now it’s $240, plus the 23 years of dividends. It’s astonishing, yet simple.
The best part of the conversation was her saying she does not worry whatsoever about owning these shares, nor the thought of paying $2.50 a litre for gasoline or needing a new roof one day.
Stories like this are why I go to work each day. Life is grand.
Courtesy of Dividend Growth Investing & Retirement, here are dividend increases from March 2026:
1.BRP Inc. (TSE:DOO): 16.3% Dividend Increase [Dividend Streak: 5 years, Yield: 1.0%] (Sea-doos and Ski-doos)
2.Element Fleet Management Corp. (TSE:EFN): 15.4% Dividend Increase [Dividend Streak: 6 years, Yield: 2.0%]
3.Dollarama Inc. (TSE:DOL): 13.4% Dividend Increase [Dividend Streak: 15 years, Yield: 0.3%]
4.Power Corporation of Canada (TSE:POW): 9.0% Dividend Increase [Dividend Streak: 11 years, Yield: 4.0%]
5.Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ): 6.4% Dividend Increase [Dividend Streak: 25 years, Yield: 3.7%]
6.Badger Infrastructure Solutions Ltd (TSE:BDGI): 4.0% Dividend Increase [Dividend Streak: 10 years, Yield: 1.3%]
7.Enghouse Systems Limited (TSE:ENGH): 3.3% Dividend Increase [Dividend Streak: 19 years, Yield: 7.5%]
8.StorageVault Canada Inc. (TSE:SVI): 0.5% Dividend Increase [Dividend Streak: 10 years, Yield: 0.3%]
9.Chartwell Retirement Residences (TSE:CSH.UN): 2.0% Dividend Increase [Dividend Streak: 0 years, Yield: 3.1%]
10. Aecon Group Inc. (TSE:ARE): 1.3% Dividend Increase [Dividend Streak: 0 years, Yield: 1.8%]
11. Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (TSE:CHP.UN): 1.3% Dividend Increase [Dividend Streak: 3 years, Yield: 5.1%]
A rising dividend is a sign from the board of directors that the company’s profit has increased. Further, that the increase is permanent. Dividend growth drives share price growth. Whether we hold them individually, in an ETF, mutual fund or pooled fund does not matter. We get growing value and growing income.
Insiders are buying at Baytex Energy, as well as Morguard REIT. (They own real estate and rent it out to tenants.) These two caught my eye but there are likely many more.
Stocks are closer to expensive than cheap. It's part of the cycle. Don’t be alarmed if we get a pullback. It will be another sale at my favourite store.
Happy Spring.
Derek Moran
