The TSX has closed above 33,000 for the first time on Thursday as portfolio managers tilt toward Canada amid revived ‘Sell America’ worries
Canadian stocks have just logged their best run against US equities in about 20 years – and the TSX is starting 2026 by widening that gap.
According to Bloomberg, the S&P/TSX Composite Index jumped 28 percent last year versus a 16 percent gain for the S&P 500, and it is up about 4.2 percent so far in 2026, compared with roughly 1.2 percent for the US benchmark.
The TSX has now closed above 33,000 for the first time, ending Thursday at a record 33,029.
The leadership is clear but shifting.
Bloomberg notes that the biggest winners over the past 12 months include Discovery Silver, up about 830 percent, Aris Mining, up more than 350 percent, and critical minerals firm Energy Fuels, up roughly 290 percent, all riding surging gold and silver prices as investors seek haven assets.
Reuters adds that the materials sector has climbed 14.1 percent in January after nearly doubling in 2025, powered by record gold and silver prices on geopolitical uncertainty.
At the same time, the advance is broadening.
Industrials gained 1.42 percent on Thursday, led by a 7.17 percent jump in Bombardier after it announced a new US$100m manufacturing centre in Dorval, Montreal.
Real estate rose 0.75 percent and financials added 0.55 percent, while energy slipped 0.93 percent as oil fell 4.56 percent to US$59.19 a barrel.
Some managers are using that backdrop to rebalance away from US risk.
According to Bloomberg, Laura Lau, chief investment officer at Brompton Funds, said “we still feel the US is exceptional. It’s still the most competitive economy on Earth, but it’s becoming less competitive,” adding that “other countries are starting to step up and realize that they’ve been letting basically the US eat their lunch.”
She favours Canadian gold miners such as Agnico Eagle Mines and European defence names like Rheinmetall.
Policy and currency concerns add to that tilt.
Bloomberg reports that Bank of Nova Scotia strategists warned recent political pressure on the Federal Reserve “could reignite a soft ‘sell the US’ trade” with higher US yields, weaker equities and a softer US dollar.
Brian Madden, chief investment officer at First Avenue Investment Counsel, said the Canadian dollar is structurally undervalued and that political interference with the US Federal Reserve only strengthens the case for hedging US dollar exposure.
US markets, however, remain powerful.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the S&P 500 is closing out 2025 with a 17 percent gain and one of its best three-year stretches on record, lifted by an artificial-intelligence arms race that has driven huge gains in names such as Nvidia, Broadcom, Alphabet, Advanced Micro Devices, Palantir and Micron.
According to the Journal, Broadcom and the “Magnificent Seven” – Amazon, Meta, Tesla, Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet – now account for about 40 percent of the S&P 500’s market value, more than double the share held by the top eight stocks a decade ago.
That concentration, and the policy noise around it, is one reason some allocators are looking abroad rather than fully embracing a “Sell America” stance.
The Journal quoted Jason Pride of Glenmede as saying he is not in the “Sell America” camp but sees “greater benefits in diversification” in an era of higher trade barriers.
For Canada, trade and sector positioning remain key pieces of the story.
Reuters reports that one of Canada’s principal minerals trading partners is China, and that Prime Minister Mark Carney hailed a “new era of relations” with Beijing and praised President Xi Jinping’s leadership during a visit, framing it as part of a strategy to diversify Canada’s trade relationships.
BNN Bloomberg reports that Mona Mahajan of Edward Jones sees Canada trying to reassert itself as a major global trading partner and reduce its reliance on the US and USMCA.
She says basic materials are leading the market, with real estate and industrials poised to benefit if rates and inflation co‑operate.
