Buy Canada. We Are.

Canada seems clearly under attack by our southern “neighbours”.

While the best-performing stocks over the past decade have mostly been U.S.-based, we’ve bucked the trend and are overweight in Canadian equities.

Lately, we’re beginning to observe a home country bias. Maple Leaf Foods, which our clients own, reported a strong quarter earlier this week. Its management said customers are looking at the labels while grocery shopping. So far this week, the stock has rallied 20%.

TFI International, a Canadian trucking company, announced plans to redomicile its headquarters in the U.S. Its stock, which thankfully no clients own, collapsed almost 30%. In a one sentence press release published on Monday, it said “based on feedback from shareholders received to date, TFI International will remain a Canadian corporation”.

Not long ago, another asset manager we are friendly with was shocked when I said that the Schneider & Pollock clients are overweight Canada.

Canada isn’t followed closely by the rest of the world. Some time ago, Sunni and I wrote a blog about a trip we took to see the friend of our Honorary Founder, Nugent Schneider, in Sarasota. Amy Greene was roomies with Marilyn Monroe for 5 years in the 1950s. During lunch, one of Amy’s many friends approached our table and said, “You’re Canadian? We just got back from Quebec! We love Canada!” We shook hands with them and said, “We almost lost Quebec… twice.” They had no idea, but as polite Canucks, we shrugged it off and said “… come visit us again!”

Though we fly under the radar abroad (and represent a mere 3% of the global market), a slight change in international sentiment would drive our domestic valuation multiples significantly higher.

Whomever forms the next federal government (be it the Conservative or Liberal Party), there will be a business-friendly group of people swept to office this spring. That will capture the attention of the same international investors that have turned their backs to this country for so many years in recent memory.

Yes, being overweight Canada hasn’t been pleasant. However, we should say too that our average client was up over 20% last year. The only “Magnificent 7” stock we’ve owned across the board in all client accounts (wherever suitable) was Alphabet.

Our friend from the other asset management company didn’t say it – but he must have thought it – “you suffer from a home country bias”. He’s right and we do.

-written by Jeff Pollock