The extraction of gold is a tiring job comprising risky and costly mining and exploration activities that, oftentimes, only unearth miniscule and unprofitable quantities of gold ore. Most of us take it for granted and forget the efforts of those extracting this beauty called gold.

Gold investments are inarguably among the most historically common ways of growing and preserving one’s wealth. But fortunately you don’t have to buy and store physical gold bullion in order to gain exposure to the lucrative yellow metal.

A simpler and indirect approach to investing in gold is to buy shares of companies involved in its extraction and production—also known as investing in gold stocks. The price of these stocks closely track the spot price of gold. 

As a Canadian investor, you may be searching for “gold stock Canada” in hopes of finding Canadian-listed public gold stocks. That’s why we put together this guide to some of the top-rated Canadian gold stocks listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE/TSX). 

(Already made up your mind? To get started investing in gold stocks in Canada, consider our top gold TFSA/RRSP service providers.)

Gold Stocks Canada: Our Top 8 Gold Mining Canada Stocks

Before diving into our top-rated gold stock TSX listed companies, let’s take a look at our determining criteria for rating gold stocks in Canada:

• Market Capitalization: the total market value of shares, used to measure and compare the size of companies.
• Average Volume: the moving average of trading volume, used to determine the intensity of demand for a company’s share.
• Forward Annual Dividend Yield: the expected dividend is estimated as a percentage of share price, a higher yield represents the company’s consistent approach to dividend distribution.
• Profit Trend: the revenue minus cost of production; used to measure operational profitability.

The companies are listed below randomly without any specific order of preference or likeness. All amounts are in Canadian Dollars (CAD) unless otherwise expressed. 

Barrick Gold Corporation (TSX: ABX)

• Market Capitalization: 35.72B
• Average Volume: 6,748,536
• Forward Annual Dividend Yield: 4.91%
•  Profit Trend: A huge jump in gross profit in 2020 followed by a slight decline

Barrick Gold Corporation is one of the leading companies in the industry with around 18 operational mining projects for gold and copper in different countries. Their tier 1 assets (core assets) include:

• Carlin Complex: It consists of several world-class mines, open pits, and processing facilities. These resources show Barrick’s strong exploration potential to locate sites as remote as North Leeville (USA).
• Cortex Complex: This open pit and underground operation project is expected to be in full swing in the next 5-10 years.
• Turquoise Ridge Complex: This project is already going smoothly with a 3rd exploration shaft expected to be commissioned by late 2022, which means increased production.

Barrick touched its highest-ever share price in May 2020 of CAD 39.56 before the mining industry as a whole slowed down due to the pandemic-induced recession. In April 2022, its shares were trading at CAD 31.79.

Source: Yahoo Finance 

Newmont Corporation (TSX:NGT)

• Market Capitalization: 44.74B
• Average Volume: 150,353
• Forward Annual Dividend Yield: 5.01%
• Profit Trend: Last 4 years of increasing gross profit

Newmont Corporation has completed 100 years of successful operations and currently has around 13 metal extraction projects all over the world. They have focused well on environmental aspects and their strategic alliance with Caterpillar Inc. to achieve zero emissions mining is an important step in that direction.

Newmont attained its highest ever share price of CAD 106.94 in April 2022. Since then, the shares prices have tumbled by almost half which experts attribute to rising inflation hitting them severely.

Source: Yahoo Finance

Franco-Nevada Corporation (TSX:FNV)

• Market Capitalization: 31.706B
• Average Volume: 425,903
• Forward Annual Dividend Yield: 0.98%
• Profit Trend: Last 4 years of increasing gross profit

Franco-Nevada has zero debt outstanding with an image of a responsible corporate being. They made a place in the list of the best 50 corporate citizens of Canada released by Corporate Knights in 2022.

Their Q2 for 2022 saw a growth in revenue of 1.5% due to their ownership of energy assets which fetched higher amounts due to a sudden increase in oil and gas prices.

Franco-Nevada had its highest-ever share price of CAD 214.1 in July 2022. Its shares jumped to CAD 210 in April 2020 before a slight decline at the moment but prospects are bright as energy prices are not declining sharply anywhere shortly. 

Source: Yahoo Finance

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (TSX:AEM)

• Market Capitalization: 25.897B
• Average Volume: 1,492,630
• Forward Annual Dividend Yield: 3.52%
• Profit Trend: Last 4 years of increasing gross profit

Agnico Eagles operates with a clear business mindset and avoids doing ‘everything’ that peers are doing in the metal industry. They have limited their customers to global bullion banks which means the counterparty risk of default or reduced buying is largely mitigated.

The company plans for the short to medium term are to reduce operational costs through efficiency in process and currency hedging. The management believes in preparing themselves mentally to avoid any inflation-related surprises.

The company attained its highest ever share price in August 2020 at CAD 110.1. This year, they had so far touched CAD 83.01 in April 2022. As of now, analysts are optimistic and advise to buy or hold the shares.

Source: Yahoo Finance

Wheaton Precious Metal Corp. (TSX:WPM)

• Market Capitalization: 18.637B
• Average Volume: 1,002,044
• Forward Annual Dividend Yield: 1.89%
• Profit Trend: Last 4 years of increasing gross profit

Wheaton has currently around 30 long-term purchase agreements of different natures but with the ultimate goal of mining and producing gold, silver, palladium, and cobalt.

Due to severe weather and flooding at one of their sites and the termination of the existing silver stream, the production for the remaining part of 2022 is not expected to be robust.

The transparent decision-making by the management shows that their five-year and ten-year production plans would see a decline from what was originally decided.

The company attained its highest-ever share price of CAD 71.93 in July 2020. It is performing well in 2022, with shares touching CAD 64.7 in April 2022.

Source: Yahoo Finance

Yamana Gold Inc. (TSX:YRI)

•  Market Capitalization: 5.959B
• Average Volume: 2,074,839
• Forward Annual Dividend Yield: 2.48%
• Profit Trend: Last 4 years of increasing gross profit

Yamana Gold has projects that are operational mostly in the Americas for gold and silver production. The company is planning to convert its existing energy resources from diesel to wind power progressively till 2030.

The company is focused on increasing mine life by following the best available extraction procedures and achieving organic growth through production cost efficiencies. This is evident from a jump in gross profits from USD$ 350,200 in 2018 to USD$ 675,500 in 2021.

Its highest-ever share price during the last 5 years was in August 2020 at CAD 8.69. 

Source: Yahoo Finance 

Kinross Gold Corporation (TSX:K)

• Market Capitalization: 5.785B
• Average Volume: 3,592,315
• Forward Annual Dividend Yield: 3.29%
• Profit Trend: 3 years of increasing gross profit before a decline last year in 2021

Kinross Gold Corporation is involved in the production and processing of gold and silver through exploration and acquisition of metal-bearing properties.

The company has had a consistent financial figure for the last 3 years except in 2012 when gross profit increased by nearly 100%. This was due to a reversal of an impairment of assets for USD 650 million.

Its share value during April 2022 was at CAD 7.81. 

Source: Yahoo Finance

B2Gold Corp. (TSX:BTO)

• Market Capitalization: 4.495B
• Average Volume: 2,595,215
• Forward Annual Dividend Yield: 4.84%
• Profit Trend: 3 years of increasing gross profit before a decline last year in 2021

B2Gold focuses on operational efficiency at their mines located in several countries including Mali, Columbia, and Uzbekistan, among other developing states. It is expected to hit the target range of production guidance for the year ending 2022.

Its share value in April 2022 was CAD 6.24. 

Source: Yahoo Finance 

Gold Stock Canada: What’s the Bigger Picture?

While gold mining Canada stocks have the potential to yield big gains, the question remains if investment in them alone will help achieve true diversification and risk management.

One way to achieve genuine, deep diversification is to spread a share of your can’t-lose wealth across different asset classes exposed to precious metals, such as:

• Metal stocks
• Metal ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds): Adding them to the portfolio will split your investments into different companies so that operational losses of a few gold stock Canada companies do not affect your bottom line very much.
• Metal Futures: You can buy gold futures to hedge and profit from price differences without actually buying any stock or physical metal. However, this is only recommended for investors with years of experience in hedging instruments.
• Physical Gold: Beginners can benefit from buying physical gold as it does not need the technical expertise of stock trading. For experienced investors, buying physical gold will result in true diversification as its price is not significantly affected by reasons that cause a decline in stock exchange performance, such as interest rates, political upheaval, stock splits, and IPOs. 

Invest in Physical Metals for Advanced Risk Management

If you are investing, say, two thirds of your precious metals investment allocation in “paper gold” assets (e.g. stocks and ETFs), the other one-third may be put toward physical precious metals. To gain a wider understanding of this investment mix, we recommend you skim through our article on why investment in physical gold is necessary.

In Canada, you can easily buy physical gold in the form of jewelry or gold bars using a CRA-approved custodian and administrator. To add gold to your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) or tax-free savings account (TFSA), make sure you do so with the assistance of a credible gold RRSP or TFSA provider. 

Inquire with one of our top-rated gold RRSP or TFSA companies to see how you can invest in both gold stocks in Canada and physical precious metals for true portfolio diversification.