Tariff Speak Is Again: 2 Shares I’d Purchase and Maintain

Tariff speak is again, with the Canada–U.S. relationship slipping into headline mode once more. Washington has been signalling more durable negotiating techniques, and the newest flare-up even dragged the almost completed Gordie Howe bridge right into a broader struggle over commerce disputes. That type of noise issues for Canadian buyers as tariffs can present up quick in prices, confidence, and company plans. It might additionally hit the loonie, squeeze family budgets, and pressure firms to rethink sourcing.

The Financial institution of Canada additionally flagged that Canada continues to be adjusting to U.S. tariffs and a altering commerce panorama, which is one other means of claiming this theme might stick round. So, how can Canadians struggle again by way of investments? Let’s take a look at two Canadian shares to think about.

MFI

Maple Leaf Meals (TSX:MFI) seems to be surprisingly well-suited for tariff chatter, because it sells on a regular basis protein, not discretionary splurges. It runs ready meals and poultry, and it spent the previous 12 months simplifying the story by spinning off its pork operations into Canada Packers whereas maintaining a minority stake and a provide settlement. That transfer lets it give attention to model, effectivity, and steadier margins, which issues when commerce prices or enter costs leap round.

Its newest quarter confirmed actual momentum. In Q3 2025, it grew gross sales to $1.4 billion and lifted adjusted earnings earlier than curiosity, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to $171.4 million. Adjusted earnings per share rose to $0.49 from $0.18 a 12 months earlier. These aren’t fireworks, however a sign that execution tightened. If tariffs push meals inflation larger, scale and shelf house may help it defend quantity and pricing, even when the buyer stays cautious.

The near-term catalyst is operational follow-through, not a single headline. Administration guided to 2026 adjusted EBITDA of about $520 million to $540 million, pointing to margin enchancment and its Gasoline for Progress initiative. But valuation stays affordable for a steadier shopper identify, buying and selling at 17.5 instances earnings and a 3.2% dividend yield. The chance is easy: enter prices can spike, and worth will increase don’t all the time stick if buyers commerce down or swap proteins.

WFG

West Fraser Timber (TSX:WFG) is a really completely different type of tariff-sensitive Canadian inventory. It sells lumber and engineered wooden merchandise, so it lives and dies by housing demand, mill prices, and commerce guidelines. When tensions rise, lumber can get caught within the center, and duties can land proper on the earnings assertion. That sounds scary, but it will probably create the dislocation that long-term consumers typically like, as a result of wooden cycles don’t stay down perpetually.

The latest earnings image seems to be ugly, however the particulars matter. In Q3 2025, the Canadian inventory posted gross sales of US$1.3 billion and a lack of US$204 million. Adjusted EBITDA got here in at destructive US$144 million, with the lumber phase hit by export responsibility expense tied to the finalization of the newest softwood lumber duties evaluate AR6. It was not a fairly quarter, nevertheless it explains why the Canadian inventory can swing exhausting when commerce guidelines shift.

The buy-and-hold attraction comes from steadiness sheet flexibility and the power to attend out the cycle. It had US$546 million in money and short-term investments at quarter finish, and administration flagged tariff uncertainty tied to the Part 232 investigation of U.S. tariffs primarily based on nationwide safety issues as a dwell danger. On valuation, it gives a 1.8% dividend yield, whereas buying and selling at 0.88 instances e-book worth. The chance is that commerce friction persists and housing stays mushy longer than anticipated, maintaining mills below stress and outcomes uneven.

Backside line

So is that this a buy-and-hold pair whereas tariff speak is again? It could be, however for various causes. Maple Leaf can supply defensive demand and enhancing execution, but it nonetheless faces value shocks and choosy shoppers. West Fraser can supply deep worth and upside when the housing market turns, but it will probably punish you with brutal quarters and responsibility payments on the way in which there. In the meantime, each can supply earnings from even smaller dividends with a $7,000 funding.

If you wish to personal each, consider it as a mix of steadier compounding plus cyclical optionality, and dimension it like a protracted sport, not like a response to the loudest headline.