Connor Clark & Lunn Q1 2026: A Big Canadian Energy Push

Connor, Clark & Lunn is one of Canada's largest independent investment managers, and its first-quarter 2026 U.S. filing shows a book that is both growing fast and leaning hard into a single theme: energy infrastructure. The Vancouver-based firm's reported 13F value rose about 14% quarter over quarter to roughly $43.4 billion, and underneath that growth it made decisive additions to the Canadian pipeline and oil complex — boosting Enbridge by 76%, Suncor by 48%, and TC Energy by 35% in share-count terms.

For a manager whose portfolio is anchored by the big Canadian banks, that energy push is the quarter's real signal. This is not a fund chasing the U.S. AI trade; it is a domestically tilted institution adding aggressively to cash-generative pipelines and producers while holding its bank core steady. The position count held at the platform-reported maximum of 500, so the 14% rise in value reflects a combination of fresh buying and market appreciation rather than a narrowing of the book.

A decisive energy-infrastructure push

The clearest theme is the pipeline and energy build-out. Enbridge, the continental pipeline operator, saw its share count jump 76% to $944.4 million (2.32% of the book) — the largest proportional add among the top holdings. Suncor Energy, the integrated oil major, was raised 48% to $960.5 million (2.36%), and TC Energy, another major pipeline, was added 35% to $816.3 million (2.00%). Together these three energy names were boosted in lockstep, a coordinated tilt toward midstream cash flows and Canadian energy exposure.

The bank core, by contrast, stayed largely in place. Royal Bank of Canada remains the top holding at $1.75 billion (4.30%), trimmed only 6%, while TD Bank was actually added 17% to $992.6 million and CIBC held roughly flat at $864.5 million. The picture is of a manager keeping its financials anchor while pressing a new energy view — a domestic barbell of banks and pipelines.

Selective U.S. and gold exposure

The portfolio is not exclusively Canadian. Nvidia sits in the top tier at $903.5 million (2.22%) after a 17% increase in shares — measured participation in the AI trade rather than the outsized bet many U.S. funds carry — and Apple ($1.88% of the book) and Shopify ($1.86%) round out the top ten.

Gold also features through Agnico Eagle Mines at $1.17 billion (2.86%), though it was trimmed 12%. The top ten holdings account for roughly 24% of the portfolio, with a long diversified tail making up the remaining 76% — a broad, institutional book rather than a concentrated set of bets. The mix of Canadian banks, energy infrastructure, gold, and selective U.S. technology is a distinctly Canadian institutional profile, with the quarter's conviction concentrated in the energy adds.

A book that has nearly doubled

The growth trajectory gives the energy push its context.

Connor, Clark & Lunn's reported 13F value has climbed from about $23.81 billion in mid-2024 — dipping to roughly $20.63 billion that autumn — to about $43.4 billion by the first quarter of 2026, nearly doubling over the period. A manager growing its reported book this steadily and then making coordinated 35%-to-76% additions to energy infrastructure is deploying new capital with conviction, not reshuffling a static portfolio. The flat position count alongside rising value points to scaling up existing and core ideas rather than spraying into new names.

What it signals

For investors who track institutional positioning, Connor, Clark & Lunn's first-quarter filing is a useful read on where a large Canadian manager sees value: midstream energy and pipelines, funded alongside a stable bank core, with only measured exposure to the U.S. AI names that dominate other portfolios. The actionable signal is the coordinated energy add — when Enbridge, Suncor, and TC Energy are all boosted double digits in the same quarter, it reflects a deliberate macro view on Canadian energy cash flows rather than a single-stock call. The next filing will show whether that tilt is the start of a larger rotation.

FAQ

What did Connor, Clark & Lunn change in Q1 2026?
The firm raised Enbridge by 76%, Suncor by 48%, and TC Energy by 35% in share-count terms, added 17% to TD Bank and Nvidia, and trimmed Royal Bank by 6% and Agnico Eagle by 12%. Its reported 13F value grew about 14% to roughly $43.4 billion.

What is Connor, Clark & Lunn's largest holding?
Royal Bank of Canada, at $1.75 billion or 4.30% of the portfolio, followed by Agnico Eagle Mines ($1.17 billion) and TD Bank ($992.6 million).

Is Connor, Clark & Lunn a Canadian-focused fund?
Its U.S. 13F book is heavily tilted to Canadian names — banks (Royal Bank, TD, CIBC), energy and pipelines (Enbridge, Suncor, TC Energy), and gold (Agnico Eagle) — with selective U.S. technology exposure through Nvidia, Apple, and Shopify.

How big is Connor, Clark & Lunn's portfolio?
The firm reported roughly $43.4 billion across 500 positions for the first quarter of 2026, up about 14% from the prior quarter and nearly double its mid-2024 level.