Canada has spent decades sitting on an absurd quantity of energy while looking like an energy superpower. The new plan for Canada? To apparently start acting like it.
That was one of the clearest messages coming out of the Canada Investment Summit.
Prime Minister Mark Carney laid out an energy strategy spanning oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), nuclear power, uranium and an electricity grid potentially twice its current size. After describing those projects, he summed up the ambition clearly.
“That is what an energy superpower looks like when it decides to act like one.”
Former prime minister Stephen Harper struck almost exactly the same theme in his closing address, telling investors, “Whatever the energy mix of the future, Canada should be a major and a global supplier.”
Different governments. Same enormous opportunity. If Canada seriously intends to move more energy around the continent and eventually overseas, investors should pay attention to the infrastructure sitting between producers and customers.
That brings me to TC Energy (TSX: TRP).
Source: Getty Images
The plumbing
Canada doesn’t become an energy superpower simply because it owns oil, gas, and uranium. Someone has to transport the stuff. Carney wants Canada to double LNG exports to 50 million tonnes annually by 2030 and eventually double them again. Electricity demand is simultaneously climbing as artificial intelligence (AI), data centres, and electrification require considerably more power.
Natural gas could serve both markets. It can feed LNG terminals for export while supplying gas-fired electricity generation when grids need dependable power. TC Energy already owns roughly 94,000 kilometres of natural gas pipelines spanning Canada, the United States, and Mexico.
Chief executive François Poirier was also sitting on the summit’s main-stage panel titled “Canada’s Energy Sector: Built for Global Capital.” TC Energy doesn’t need Canada to become an energy superpower someday. It’s already operating much of the plumbing required to make it happen.
Demand is moving
TC Energy expects North American natural gas demand to increase by roughly 51 billion cubic feet per day between 2025 and 2035. The drivers are exactly what dominated the summit. Those included LNG exports, gas-fired electricity generation, industrial development, and data centres.
Management isn’t merely watching that demand arrive. TC Energy sanctioned roughly $3 billion of new growth projects during the first half of 2026. Several expansions are backed by long-term take-or-pay contracts, meaning customers reserve capacity whether they use every bit of it or not.
That model helps turn giant steel tubes in the ground into remarkably predictable cash flow. Second-quarter comparable earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased 12% year over year to $2.9 billion, prompting management to expect results near the upper end of its 2026 guidance.
Considerations
TC Energy recently traded around $85.50. Its $0.88 quarterly dividend works out to $3.51 annually, providing a yield of roughly 4.1%. That isn’t the 7% or 8% yield investors could occasionally grab when pipeline stocks were deeply unpopular. The shares now trade around 23 times forward earnings, so investors are paying more for the improved outlook.
There’s another obvious risk. Building major energy infrastructure is expensive, and political enthusiasm can disappear considerably faster than a pipeline can be constructed. TC Energy also carries substantial debt and must remain disciplined as it funds new projects.
Bottom line
Still, investors don’t need every Canadian mega-project to succeed. TC Energy’s existing network already connects enormous natural gas supplies with utilities, industry, power plants, and LNG export markets.
If Canada follows through on its energy-superpower ambitions, considerably more energy could need to travel through those pipes. Getting paid a 4.1% dividend while that happens isn’t a bad place to wait.
