Best Canadian AI Stocks to Buy in 2026

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If you’re looking for the best Canadian AI stocks to add to your portfolio in 2026, you’re in the right place. Canadian investors have direct access to several TSX-listed companies with meaningful AI exposure — all trading in Canadian dollars on a Canadian exchange.

This guide covers six TSX-listed stocks with disclosed AI products or AI-driven demand, how we selected them, and the key risks to watch. We also explain how to hold AI stocks tax-efficiently in Canada.

Ready to build a position in Canadian AI stocks? Open a Questrade account to trade TSX-listed stocks and ETFs.

Why Canadian AI Stocks in 2026?

When most investors think about AI stocks, they think about US-listed names: Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, Meta. Those companies dominate AI infrastructure and software. If you’re looking for pure-play AI leaders, our best AI stocks pillar covers the full landscape — including those US giants.

This article focuses exclusively on TSX-listed Canadian companies with AI exposure. Why?

Simplicity. TSX-listed stocks trade in Canadian dollars and settle in your Canadian brokerage account without cross-border friction.

Diversification within AI. The six stocks on this list span different layers of the AI value chain: e-commerce platforms, data-centre hardware manufacturers, enterprise software companies embedding AI into legal research and supply-chain planning, and IT services firms helping clients implement AI.

The current interest rate environment. As of the Bank of Canada’s latest rate decision on July 15, 2026, the policy rate stands at 2.25% — held steady for six consecutive announcements. Lower rates support the valuations of long-duration growth stocks by reducing the discount rate on future earnings. Our view is that rate stability creates a more favorable backdrop for growth-oriented AI stocks than a rising-rate environment. The next Bank of Canada decision is scheduled for September 2, 2026.

All share prices, market caps, P/E ratios, and dividends below are in Canadian dollars from the TSX listing. Several of these companies report their financial results in US dollars, which means their earnings translate at the prevailing USD/CAD exchange rate — we note which currency each company reports in below.

How We Chose These Stocks

This is not a ranking by expected return. We selected six TSX-listed Canadian companies that meet three criteria:

1. Disclosed AI products or AI-driven demand. Each company has publicly stated how AI contributes to its business in its quarterly results.

2. Sourced financial data. Every figure comes from company earnings releases, investor presentations, or third-party financial data providers. We cite the source for every AI-related claim.

3. TSX-listed and liquid. All six stocks trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange with sufficient liquidity for retail investors.

This list includes growth stocks with no dividend, dividend-paying stocks with modest yields, and one value-and-income stock. The range reflects the diversity of AI exposure available on the TSX. For broader Canadian equity ideas, see our main Canadian stocks pillar page.

The 6 Best Canadian AI Stocks for 2026

1. Shopify (TSX: SHOP) — E-Commerce Platform / AI-Driven Commerce

Price: $212.84 | Market cap: $274.05B | P/E: 100.09 | Dividend: None 52-week range: $129.01–$253.10 Data as of August 25, 2026 market close. Source: StockAnalysis.

Shopify reports in US dollars.

What it does

Shopify is one of the world’s leading e-commerce platforms. The company provides software and services for merchants to run online stores, manage inventory, process payments, and fulfill orders.

The AI angle

Per Shopify’s second-quarter presentation, as reported by Investing.com, the company’s AI assistant for merchants, called Sidekick, generated 34 million conversations in Q2 2026. Daily active merchants using Sidekick grew 3.6 times year over year. Merchants built 36,000 custom apps using Sidekick in the second quarter, up from 12,000 in the first quarter.

On the “agentic commerce” side — shopping initiated by AI assistants — AI-driven traffic to Shopify storefronts tripled year over year. Orders originating from AI searches also tripled, and the new-buyer order rate from AI channels was twice that of other channels.

Shopify’s Q2 2026 results showed gross merchandise volume of $116 billion, up 32% year over year in constant currency; revenue $3.7 billion, up 34%; and free cash flow margin of 18%.

Key risk

The trailing P/E ratio is above 100. That valuation assumes revenue and earnings growth continue at a strong pace for years. The stock closed at $212.84 versus a 52-week low of $129.01 — drawdowns within the past year have been large.

2. Celestica (TSX: CLS) — AI Data-Centre Hardware Manufacturing

Price: $423.57 | Market cap: $48.70B | P/E: 30.99 | Dividend: None 52-week range: $253.12–$655.50 Data as of August 25, 2026 market close. Source: StockAnalysis.

Celestica reports in US dollars.

What it does

Celestica is a hardware manufacturer specializing in data-centre and networking infrastructure. The company builds servers, switches, and networking equipment for hyperscale cloud providers and enterprise customers.

The AI angle

Per Celestica’s second-quarter results, as reported by Investing.com, revenue in Q2 2026 was US$4.70 billion, up 62% year over year, and adjusted earnings per share were US$2.54, up 83%. The Connectivity & Cloud Solutions segment drove the growth with revenue of US$3.81 billion, up 84%, representing 81% of total company revenue.

The company raised its full-year 2026 guidance to revenue of US$20.5 billion (from US$19 billion) and adjusted earnings per share of US$11.30 (from US$10.15). CEO Rob Mionis stated: “Rapid progression and technology upgrade cycles in networking and AI compute are driving broad demand.”

Celestica pointed to continued growth in 800G Ethernet networking programs and the start of mass production of 1.6-terabit programs with hyperscaler customers in the third quarter.

Key risk

The stock closed at $423.57 versus a 52-week high of $655.50. Hardware manufacturers with concentrated hyperscaler customers can see sharp swings when order timing shifts or when customers adjust their capital expenditure plans.

3. Thomson Reuters (TSX: TRI) — Professional Information + Legal AI (CoCounsel)

Price: $144.24 | Market cap: $62.49B | P/E: 26.54 | Forward dividend: $3.67 (2.52% yield) 52-week range: $107.91–$252.40 Data as of August 25, 2026 market close. Source: StockAnalysis.

Thomson Reuters reports in US dollars.

What it does

Thomson Reuters is a professional information and software company serving legal, tax, accounting, and corporate customers. The company provides legal research databases, news services, tax compliance software, and workflow tools.

The AI angle

Per the company’s second-quarter release, total revenue in Q2 2026 grew 9%, with organic revenue growth of 8%. The company’s “Big 3” segments — Legal Professionals, Corporates, and Tax & Accounting Professionals — delivered organic growth of 10%. Adjusted earnings per share were US$0.99.

The release cites CoCounsel, the company’s AI legal assistant, as a driver of organic growth. CEO Steve Hasker stated: “Our priority for the second half of the year is further deepening our leadership in trusted Fiduciary-Grade AI solutions. We are very pleased with the recent release of CoCounsel Legal and the very strong evaluation results of the first production ready version of the Thomson LLM.”

The company’s full-year 2026 outlook calls for organic revenue growth of approximately 8%, with Big 3 organic growth of 9.5%–10%.

Key risk

The stock is well below its 52-week high of $252.40. AI tools that make legal research faster could also pressure the pricing of information subscriptions over time — a debate investors should watch as CoCounsel scales.

4. Kinaxis (TSX: KXS) — AI Supply-Chain Planning Software (Maestro)

Price: $175.51 | Market cap: $4.77B | P/E: 40.48 | Dividend: None 52-week range: $117.22–$195.08 Data as of August 25, 2026 market close. Source: StockAnalysis.

Kinaxis reports in US dollars.

What it does

Kinaxis is a software company focused on supply-chain planning. The company’s platform helps manufacturers and distributors model demand, optimize inventory, and respond to supply-chain disruptions in real time.

The AI angle

Per Kinaxis’ second-quarter results presentation, as reported by Investing.com, total revenue in Q2 2026 was US$158.8 million, up 16%. SaaS revenue was US$106.5 million, up 20%. Annual recurring revenue reached US$465.6 million, up 19%.

The company raised its full-year 2026 guidance to total revenue of US$625–640 million (14–17% growth) and SaaS revenue of US$427–434 million (18–20% growth).

Maestro Agents, the company’s AI agents for supply-chain planning, had approximately 10% of the installed customer base on a paid or trial subscription as of June 30, 2026. That is an early-stage penetration rate.

Key risk

Kinaxis is the smallest company on this list by market capitalization ($4.77B) and carries a P/E above 40 — a growth-priced mid-cap stock. Competition from large enterprise-software vendors is a constant risk.

5. OpenText (TSX: OTEX) — Enterprise Information Management + Aviator AI (Value/Income Angle)

Price: $33.68 | Market cap: $8.00B | P/E: 8.76 | Forward dividend: $1.53 (4.54% yield) 52-week range: $27.63–$56.00 Data as of August 25, 2026 market close. Source: StockAnalysis.

OpenText reports in US dollars. The company’s fiscal year ends June 30. Ex-dividend date: September 4, 2026.

What it does

OpenText is an enterprise information management company. The platform helps organizations manage, secure, and analyze unstructured data — documents, emails, contracts, records.

The AI angle

Per OpenText’s fiscal 2026 results presentation, as reported by Investing.com, fiscal Q4 revenue (quarter ended June 30, 2026) was US$1.35 billion, up 2.9%. Cloud revenue was US$503 million, up 6.0%. Annual recurring revenue was US$1.06 billion, representing 78.3% of total revenue.

For the full fiscal year 2026, revenue was US$5.25 billion, up 1.5%. Enterprise cloud bookings grew 22.5% to US$947 million; in the fourth quarter alone they were US$295 million, up 24.1%.

The company’s AI platform, Aviator, is driving larger deal sizes. Per the presentation coverage, “Deals including Aviator agents are approximately four times larger than standard deals.”

For fiscal 2027, OpenText guided total revenue of US$5.135–5.185 billion — slightly lower than fiscal 2026’s US$5.25 billion — with core cloud revenue growth of 8–10% and adjusted EBITDA margin of 32–33%.

Key risk

Total revenue is guided lower for fiscal 2027, and the margin outlook is also lower. OpenText is a turnaround and value case, not a growth stock. The 4.54% dividend yield is a large part of the investment case. The stock is near the low end of its 52-week range.

6. CGI (TSX: GIB.A) — IT Services and Consulting, AI Advisory/Implementation

Price: $102.91 | Market cap: $21.04B | P/E: 12.81 | Forward dividend: $0.68 (0.66% yield) 52-week range: $83.34–$134.74 Data as of August 25, 2026 market close. Source: StockAnalysis.

CGI reports in Canadian dollars. The company’s fiscal year ends September 30.

What it does

CGI is a global IT services and consulting firm. The company helps clients with digital transformation, systems integration, application development, and IT infrastructure management.

The AI angle

Per CGI’s third-quarter release (quarter ended June 30, 2026), revenue was $4.19 billion, up 2.5%. Diluted earnings per share were $2.23, up 22.5%; adjusted diluted EPS was $2.29, up 9.0%.

Bookings were $4.20 billion, for a book-to-bill ratio of 100.1% in the quarter and 108.1% on a trailing-twelve-month basis. Backlog stood at $31.79 billion, or 1.9 times annual revenue.

CGI describes its AI positioning as spanning AI advisory and governance, generative AI, “agentic AI” ecosystem design, and “sovereign AI” for regulated industries, delivered through what it calls a “human-led, agent-orchestrated approach.” The company does not break out AI-specific revenue or bookings figures.

Key risk

Low single-digit revenue growth — the AI opportunity here is a services pick-and-shovel story, not a product growth story. Consulting demand tracks corporate IT budgets, which can contract during economic downturns.

Comparison Table: Best Canadian AI Stocks 2026

Company	Ticker	Price (Aug 25 close)	Market cap	P/E	Dividend yield	AI angle
Shopify	TSX: SHOP	$212.84	$274.05B	100.09	None	AI merchant tools, agentic commerce
Celestica	TSX: CLS	$423.57	$48.70B	30.99	None	AI data-centre hardware
Thomson Reuters	TSX: TRI	$144.24	$62.49B	26.54	2.52%	Legal AI (CoCounsel)
Kinaxis	TSX: KXS	$175.51	$4.77B	40.48	None	Supply-chain AI (Maestro)
OpenText	TSX: OTEX	$33.68	$8.00B	8.76	4.54%	Enterprise AI (Aviator)
CGI	TSX: GIB.A	$102.91	$21.04B	12.81	0.66%	AI services, consulting

Data as of August 25, 2026 market close. Source: StockAnalysis.

How to Hold AI Stocks in Canada

All six stocks on this list trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange and can be purchased through any Canadian brokerage account.

Growth stocks with no dividend — Shopify, Celestica, and Kinaxis — generate returns as capital gains. In a TFSA, those gains are tax-free. In an RRSP, they are tax-deferred until you withdraw in retirement. In a taxable account, 50% of a capital gain is generally included in your taxable income. For a detailed comparison of account types, see our guide on FHSA vs TFSA vs RRSP.

Dividend-paying stocks — Thomson Reuters, OpenText, and CGI — generate a combination of capital gains and dividend income. Dividends from Canadian corporations generally qualify for the dividend tax credit in a taxable account, but a TFSA still provides the most tax-efficient outcome because all income and gains are completely tax-free.

Several of these companies report their financial results in US dollars, even though their TSX-listed shares trade in Canadian dollars. That means their earnings translate at the prevailing USD/CAD exchange rate, which introduces currency exposure even on the TSX listing.

For more on choosing a brokerage, see our Questrade review.

Risks of Investing in AI Stocks

AI stocks carry all the risks of equity investing — plus a few risks specific to the theme.

Valuation risk. Several stocks on this list trade at elevated P/E ratios. Shopify’s P/E above 100 and Kinaxis’ P/E above 40 reflect market expectations for sustained high growth. If growth slows, those valuations can compress quickly.

Concentration and customer risk. Celestica’s revenue is heavily concentrated in hyperscaler customers building AI data centers. If those customers slow their infrastructure spending, Celestica’s revenue could decline sharply.

Competition. AI is attracting capital and talent from every corner of the technology industry. Large competitors with broader product portfolios are embedding AI into their platforms. Smaller, focused companies must continuously prove their AI features deliver value.

Hype cycle risk. AI has been one of the dominant investment themes of recent years. When a theme becomes universally popular, expectations can outrun fundamentals. Investors should be prepared for volatility.

Our view is that AI is a long-term structural theme, not a one-year trade. The stocks on this list should be evaluated as multi-year holdings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Canadian AI stocks a buy?

Whether Canadian AI stocks are a buy depends on your risk tolerance, time horizon, and portfolio allocation. The six stocks on this list range from high-growth, high-valuation names to slower-growth, value-oriented names. Each has disclosed AI exposure, but each carries different risks. We do not recommend any stock as a guaranteed winner.

Which Canadian AI stock pays a dividend?

Three stocks on this list pay dividends: Thomson Reuters (2.52% yield), OpenText (4.54% yield), and CGI (0.66% yield). OpenText offers the highest yield. The other three stocks — Shopify, Celestica, and Kinaxis — pay no dividend and generate returns entirely through capital appreciation.

Do I need a US-dollar account to buy Canadian AI stocks?

No. All six stocks on this list trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canadian dollars. You can buy them with Canadian dollars in a standard Canadian brokerage account. That said, several of these companies report their financial results in US dollars, which means their earnings are subject to USD/CAD exchange rate fluctuations.

How is this different from US AI stocks?

Our best AI stocks pillar page covers US-listed AI leaders like Nvidia, Microsoft, and Google. Those companies are larger, more liquid, and represent the core of the AI infrastructure stack. The Canadian AI stocks on this list are smaller, more specialized, and trade on the TSX in Canadian dollars.

Final Thoughts

Canadian AI stocks offer direct TSX-listed exposure to one of the most important technology themes of the decade. The six stocks covered in this guide — Shopify, Celestica, Thomson Reuters, Kinaxis, OpenText, and CGI — span different layers of the AI value chain, from e-commerce platforms and data-centre hardware to legal AI, supply-chain software, enterprise information management, and IT consulting.

None of these stocks is a guaranteed winner. Each carries risks tied to valuation, competition, customer concentration, or execution. But for Canadian investors looking to build AI exposure without the complexity of cross-border investing, these six TSX-listed companies represent a range of risk-and-return profiles worth considering.

With the Bank of Canada holding rates steady at 2.25% and the aggressive hiking cycle behind us, the current environment is more supportive of growth stocks than it has been in several years.

Ready to build a position in Canadian AI stocks? Open a Questrade account to trade TSX-listed stocks and ETFs.

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Disclaimer: The content on bestcanadianstocks.ca is for informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Always consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. Market and stock data as of the August 25, 2026 close.