So much for “Buy Canadian.”
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U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and threats of annexation have angered a majority of Canadians, leading them to shun travel south of the border and refuse to buy American-made cars and wine. However, investors in Canada continue to purchase U.S. stocks at breakneck speed, favoring them over shares of publicly traded Canadian companies.
New data from National Bank of Canada Financial Markets (TSE:NA) shows that Canadian investors have purchased C$124 billion ($89.7 billion U.S.) of American equities so far in 2025, even as President Trump’s trade war continues to generate headlines and ire across the country. In fact, Canadians are on track to buy more U.S. stocks this year than at any time since the technology boom of the 1990s.
Buying the AI Hype
According to National Bank, Canadian investors are buying into the hype surrounding artificial intelligence (A.I.) and putting money into mega-cap technology stocks such as Nvidia (NVDA), Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META), following the lead of American investors.
Somewhat ironically, Canadian investors are favoring U.S. stocks despite Canada’s market outperforming. So far in 2025, the benchmark Toronto Stock Exchange has outperformed the S&P 500 index in the U.S., 15% versus 10%. The Toronto Stock Exchange hit its 30th record high of the year on Aug. 22.
Is the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust a Buy?
The SPDR S&P 500 exchange-traded fund (SPY) currently has a consensus Moderate Buy rating among 504 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 419 Buy, 79 Hold, and six Sell recommendations issued in the last three months. The average SPY price target of $716.75 implies 11.25% upside from current levels.
