"It is never a bad time to look north of the border to find some quality stocks in Canada"

Dow Jones 10,653.60 (UP) Week ending 08-06-2010

I do a lot of business in my job with companies in Canada and it just seems like they keep rolling along up there doing business without as much stress as here in the US. It may just be their healthy attitude towards life in general. You can understand it better with the magnificent show Canada put on in the Winter Olympics this year that showed all the beauty of Canada and the kind nature of its people. They seem to be very in touch with their history and culture. Well enough of the compliments, on with the stocks.

The first one I want to talk about which is a great value right now, is Suncor (Symbol SU , $33,25). Suncor is having a nice recovery in earnings in 2011 projected at $2.39 a share. The stock is about even this year and you can buy it here as a best idea.

The next two ideas are cookie cutter safe total return plays. Canadian National Railway (Symbol CNI, $64.20) has a 1.64% dividend and a 12 month total return of 35%. Canadian Pacific Railway (Symbol CP, $60.55) has a dividend of 1.70 percent and a 12 month total return of 28.5%. Pick one and go with it for your IRA. These two companies deliver the abundant resources of Canada to market.

The money has to go somewhere in Canada so add to the list The Bank of Nova Scotia (Symbol BNS, $49.22). This bank has projected earnings in 2011 of 44.57 per share. It also has a nice 3.72% dividend to kick into your total investment return. Their bank is usually seen with that red "Scotiabank" logo on it.



Lest we forget Canada's great potash businesses that are focused in Saskatchewan, Mosaic Company (Symbol MOS, 51.09) with 2011 earnings projected at $4.00 even and a PE of 12. Also POTASH Corp. of Saskatchewan (Symbol POT, $113.11). Potash has taken off since June when it announced that Potash's earnings had doubled for the quarter. Projected earnings of $7.62 for 2011 could make this a $150 stock. With the wildfires in Russia and them not expecting to export any Wheat this year to the rest of the world, these two companies should fair well. The world needs to eat!

These companies should give you strong total returns for the next few years ahead. It is always good to reevaluate these companies every 6 months to make sure they are still on track in your long term investment portfolio.

Thank you for reading, as always comments welcomed.

Freewilly