Most of us aspire to retire as millionaires, however this objective is way extra achievable than it might appear—offered we make investments persistently and stay affected person over the long run. Wealth creation is much less about timing the market and extra in regards to the self-discipline of standard investing mixed with the facility of compounding. As an illustration, investing $500 each month and incomes an annualized return of 10% can develop right into a portfolio of over $1 million in about 26 years. The secret is staying invested via market cycles and permitting returns to compound over time.
Towards this backdrop, let’s take a more in-depth take a look at two Canadian shares which have the potential to generate annualized returns of greater than 10% over the long term and assist traders transfer meaningfully nearer to reaching their retirement targets.
Dollarama
Dollarama (TSX:DOL) is a confirmed long-term compounder, which has delivered a formidable 700% return over the previous decade, translating into an annualized return of 23.1%. Supported by its superior direct-sourcing enterprise mannequin and extremely environment friendly logistics community, the Montreal-based retailer can provide on a regular basis shopper merchandise at compelling costs, enabling it to generate sturdy gross sales no matter broader financial situations.
The corporate has persistently expanded its footprint, rising its Canadian retailer community from 652 places in 2011 to 1,684 shops as of its most lately reported third quarter of fiscal 2026. As well as, Dollarama operates 401 shops in Australia, additional diversifying its progress base. This regular retailer growth and resilient demand have pushed sturdy monetary efficiency, with income and internet earnings rising at annualized charges of 12.1% and 18.8%, respectively, since fiscal 2011, supporting the corporate’s long-term worth appreciation.
Wanting forward, Dollarama continues to see a major progress runway. Administration expects the Canadian retailer depend to achieve roughly 2,200 places by the top of fiscal 2034. Given the corporate’s environment friendly capital deployment, speedy gross sales ramp-up, quick common payback intervals, and comparatively low upkeep prices, this growth ought to meaningfully help each income and earnings progress. Over the identical interval, Dollarama additionally plans to increase its Australian footprint to 700 shops.
Past its core operations, Dollarama owns a 60.1% stake in Dollarcity, which operates 683 shops throughout 5 Latin American nations. With Dollarcity focusing on an growth to 1,050 shops by fiscal 2031—and Dollarama entitled to extend its possession stake to 70% by the top of subsequent 12 months—I count on Dollarcity’s contribution to Dollarama’s earnings to rise steadily within the years forward. Given its resilient enterprise mannequin, disciplined growth technique, and robust long-term progress prospects, Dollarama stays well-positioned to ship superior long-term returns, making it a wonderful purchase for affected person traders.
Waste Connections
One other Canadian inventory that I imagine has the potential to ship distinctive long-term returns is Waste Connections (TSX:WCN), a number one waste administration providers supplier working throughout the US and Canada. The corporate focuses totally on unique and secondary markets, the place competitors is restricted, permitting it to take care of increased margins and extra secure pricing. Along with regular natural progress, WCN has persistently expanded via disciplined, value-accretive acquisitions, which have been a key driver of its long-term monetary efficiency.
Over the previous 5 years, the corporate has accomplished greater than 100 acquisitions, including roughly $2.2 billion in annualized income. Supported by this progress technique and robust working execution, it has delivered returns of greater than 420% over the previous decade, translating into an annualized return of 18.2%.
Wanting forward, WCN is well-positioned to maintain its progress momentum. Backed by a robust steadiness sheet and wholesome free money stream technology, administration plans to proceed pursuing an energetic acquisition technique. The corporate maintains a sturdy pipeline of personal acquisition targets throughout the US and Canada that would collectively contribute as much as $5 billion in annualized income. Alongside acquisitions, WCN is leveraging superior applied sciences to reinforce effectivity and profitability. The deployment of robotics and optical sorters in its recycling amenities, mixed with decrease voluntary worker turnover pushed by improved engagement and security metrics, has supported ongoing margin growth. The corporate can be utilizing AI-driven instruments to optimize business overage prices and reinforce pricing self-discipline.
Given its stable underlying enterprise, disciplined capital allocation, and a number of long-term progress drivers, I imagine WCN represents a wonderful long-term funding alternative.
