What hit the stocks
Canadian telecom names have been hammered this year as their bond-like appeal faded when government bond yields in both the US and Canada jumped. After that reset, some buyers are stepping in while prices are still weak.
The S&P/TSX Composite Communications Services Index, which includes five of the country's big players, has slid 17% in 2026 even as the main Canadian equity gauge has gained 14%. The sector fell as much as 0.9% on Thursday, keeping it among the day's laggards. Rogers Communications Inc. is off about 15% this year after saying it plans to sell a minority interest in a combined sports, media and entertainment business.
Analyst sentiment remains constructive. According to Bloomberg, 72% of analysts have buy-equivalent calls on Rogers; for Quebecor Inc., nearly 67% hold that view, while BCE Inc. sits at about 58%.
Who is buying and why
"We've been adding on some of the weakness recently," said John Zechner, president of J. Zechner Associates Inc. in Toronto. He also owns BCE and Telus Corp., and says he is upbeat on Rogers after it trimmed its capital spending guidance earlier this year. At his firm, Rogers now makes up 2.2% of the typical portfolio, up from roughly 1.8% last December.
Zechner is not worried about SpaceX's Starlink disrupting Canadian wireless in the near term.
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The SpaceX question and the sports angle
LetkoBrosseau portfolio manager Julie Bouianovskaia put the SpaceX threat in Canada in the minimal bucket and added positions. "We have increased our exposure to Canadian telcos this year, reflecting more attractive valuations and our expectations for stronger free cash flow generation, declining leverage and an eventual improvement in industry fundamentals over the coming years," she said.
TD Cowen's Vince Valentini, who carries a buy on all Canadian telecom names, does not see traders steering clear because the industry outlook is worsening. "It's quite the opposite," he said. "It's actually gradually getting better, but that's not enough to get people interested in the stocks when bond yields in the US are hitting new multiyear highs."
Some are leaning on the sports story at Rogers. Middlefield Group Inc. chief investment officer Rob Lauzon bought shares in late September during the bond-yield selloff. He favors other sectors overall but views Rogers' sports assets as underappreciated.
Rogers said last week it topped analyst estimates thanks to stronger ticketing and advertising revenue from sports. Last year, the company increased its stake twofold in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, and more recently acquired the remaining shares to assume full ownership of the business that operates the Toronto Raptors, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and other live entertainment properties.
The bottom line for portfolios
Middlefield's diversified funds portfolios now hold a 3% slice of Rogers, up from zero earlier this year. Lauzon said he has "already lost a few bucks" on the position amid SpaceX headlines, but he anticipates a rebound in the shares in the coming months, with the timing influenced by how large a stake the company sells. "I might actually buy more this week just to kind of get more in the mid-forties here at C$45," he said, adding he is looking for more than a 20% move to around C$55 to C$60, plus dividends.
In plain English: higher bond yields have weakened the case for dividend-heavy telcos, but selective investors are leaning into specific catalysts like Rogers' sports monetization and capex cuts. Your takeaway is a sector down 17% against a benchmark up 14%, with some managers using the drawdown to build positions while watching SpaceX talk and bond yields.
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