Feeling Uneasy About Markets? These 3 Canadian Dividend Stocks Are Built for Times Like These

2026-03-09 16:05:00 ET

If you’ve been watching the TSX lurch around and wondering whether your savings are built to handle it, dividend stocks are worth a closer look today, with these three in particular.

Price swings are still going to happen, but a reliable payout gives you something you can use, reinvest , or simply enjoy while the market does its daily or weekly mood swings. Dividends also add discipline. They push you to care about cash flow, balance sheets, and durability instead of hype. In a noisy tape, that usually leads you toward businesses that keep showing up quarter after quarter.

H

Hydro One ( TSX: H ) works in choppy markets because it runs regulated electricity transmission and distribution in Ontario. Over the last year, its story has been about execution and the practical realities of running a massive grid business, including demand patterns, productivity efforts, and capital spending pace, which is exactly what you want from a calm dividend stock.

For the quarter ended December 31, Hydro One reported net income attributable to common shareholders of $233 million, up 16.5% year over year, and basic earnings per share (EPS) of $0.39 versus $0.33. For full-year 2025, EPS rose to $2.23 from $1.93 in 2024, and net income attributable to common shareholders was about $1.34 billion. Valuation isn’t cheap, with a trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) around 26.2 and an annualized dividend yield around 2.3% on a quarterly dividend of $0.333.

For investors who want a steady-eddie dividend in a choppy market, Hydro One’s regulated model and rising earnings make it hard to argue with.

BEP

Brookfield Renewable Partners ( TSX: BEP.UN ) is a good choice for choppy markets as it owns renewable power assets that generate long-lived cash flows across hydro, wind, solar, storage, and related solutions. When investors feel jumpy, infrastructure-like cash flow can look comforting, especially when it comes with a distribution. Over the last year, Brookfield Renewable leaned into growth through development and acquisitions, while recycling capital to fund the next wave. It also raised its distribution, which signals confidence in the underlying cash engine even as sentiment swings.

For 2025, Brookfield Renewable reported funds from operations (FFO) of $1.33 billion, or $2.01 per unit, up 10% on a per-unit basis year over year. The fourth quarter also looked solid, with FFO of $346 million, up 14%, or $0.51 per unit, and it ended 2025 with about $4.6 billion of liquidity, which matters in a choppy market. Valuation needs a distribution lens rather than a clean P/E, with recent data showing an annualized distribution yield around 5%.

If you want a 5% distribution backed by growing FFO and a business built for the energy transition, take a good look at Brookfield Renewable.

FFH

Fairfax Financial ( TSX: FFH ) also belongs on a choppy-market dividend list, even though its dividend yield isn’t the main reason to own it. Fairfax operates like an insurance-and-investing hybrid. Insurance premiums and float provide a steady base, and investment decisions can add upside when markets dislocate. In volatile periods, that mix can actually become an advantage, because it can earn through underwriting while also taking advantage of mispricing in capital markets.

In its 2025 fiscal year results, Fairfax reported net earnings of $4.77 billion, or $213.78 in net earnings per diluted share after preferred dividends. Valuation has looked surprisingly modest relative to that earnings power, with a trailing P/E around 8 and trailing EPS listed around $292.25 per share, which can provide a margin of safety when markets get rough. The dividend is real but not the headline, with an annual dividend of $20.77 per share and an annual yield around 0.9%.

This is a business that can actually profit from the volatility everyone else is running away from.

Bottom line

If markets stay choppy, these three dividend stocks give you three different kinds of calm. Hydro One offers regulated stability and a steady dividend backed by rising earnings. Brookfield Renewable offers a renewable cash-flow platform with growing FFO and a meaningful distribution. Fairfax offers a lower-yield dividend with value-style earnings and a business model that can actually benefit from volatility when it stays disciplined. You won’t avoid every bump, but you can own the kind of businesses that make the bumps easier to live with.

This is the kind of investing philosophy used at Stock Advisor Canada . To stay calm when the market isn’t. If that sounds like you, it’s worth checking out.

The post Feeling Uneasy About Markets? These 3 Canadian Dividend Stocks Are Built for Times Like These appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada .

Fool contributor Amy Legate-Wolfe has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Fairfax Financial. The Motley Fool recommends Brookfield Renewable Partners. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .

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