Top 5 Canadian Nickel Stocks in 2026
Nickel markets improved at the end of 2025, and in Q2 2026 the nickel price surged to two-year highs of US$19,675 per metric ton on the London Metal Exchange.
Several factors were driving the price, including reduced mining quotas announced by the Indonesian government in December and higher energy prices due to the war against Iran that began on February 28.
However, by the end of the quarter, rumors began to circulate that Indonesia would once again increase quotas to 360 million wet metric tons from the 250 million to 260 million set earlier in the year, leading prices to fall near the US$16,000 mark in early July, marking a year-to-date low but still elevated from 2025.
The country rejected the rumors July 10, stating exceptions would only be made for smelters in the country that were dealing with immediate feedstock shortfalls.
Nickel markets have faced significant headwinds over recent years due to oversupply, particularly from top nickel producer Indonesia, alongside soft demand from weak construction and manufacturing in China, and a shift from EV battery chemistry away from nickel-manganese-cobalt to the more affordable lithium-iron-phosphate.
Against that backdrop, how have Canadian nickel stocks performed so far in 2026? We profile the top 5 nickel stocks in Canada on the TSX, TSXV and CSE by share price performance so far this year.
All year-to-date and share price data was obtained on July 8, 2026, using TradingView’s stock screener. Canadian nickel stocks with market caps above C$10 million at that time were considered.
Year-to-date gain: 288.89 percent
Market cap: C$87.51 million
Share price: C$0.35
Homeland Nickel has a portfolio of nickel projects in Oregon, US. In addition, the company holds investments in mining companies with nickel projects, including Benton Resources (TSXV:BEX,OTCPL:BNTRF), Canada Nickel Company (TSXV:CNC,OTCQX:CNIKF) and Noble Mineral Exploration (TSXV:NOB,OTCQB:NLPXF).
Additionally, in November 2025, the company partnered with the newly formed Patriot Nickel and would be optioning an up to 80 percent ownership of its Cleopatra and Eight Dollar Mountain projects to Patriot in exchange for a 20 percent share of Patriot upon its IPO, contingent in Patriot meeting certain milestones.
Shares of Homeland surged after an announcement on January 13 that Canada Nickel’s Crawford project near Timmins in Ontario, Canada, was selected for the province’s “One Project, One Process” review framework, which will allow for an accelerated timetable for permitting and development of the asset. Canada Nickel is Homeland’s top investment at 742,095 shares valued at C$1.08 million.
The news also came alongside a surge in the nickel price from a low of US$14,255 in mid-December to as high as US$18,785 on January 14.
In an update on March 17, Homeland reported that Jeffrey Strobel had been appointed CEO of Patriot. Homeland also closed its acquisition of the Woodcock Mountain nickel laterite property in Oregon, and entered an agreement to acquire the nearby Rough and Ready project, which covers 640 acres of nickel laterite and has historic assays of up to 2 percent nickel.
Then on May 14, Homeland announced it entered into a memorandum of understanding with Westwin Elements to develop a solution for keeping the full nickel value chain of mining, processing and refining nickel products inside the United States. Westwin has constructed a demonstration facility that produces high-purity nickel products using vapor metallurgy.
As for work at its projects, Homeland noted in an update on May 21 that environmental reviews would begin on June 7 for the Cleopatra, Woodcock, Eight Dollar Mountain and Red Flat properties to meet requirements for a plan of operation to conduct drilling on the properties.
Shares of Homeland reached a year-to-date high of C$0.70 on January 21.
2. First Atlantic Nickel and Cobalt (TSXV:FAN)
Year-to-date gain: 227.27 percent
Market cap: C$116.21 million
Share price: C$0.72
First Atlantic Nickel and Cobalt is a critical mineral exploration and development company advancing its Pipestone XL project in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, which contains the mineral awaruite, an alloy of nickel, iron and cobalt.
The nickel and cobalt property spans the breadth of the 30 kilometer Pipestone ophiolite complex and hosts multiple zones with nickel, iron and cobalt mineralization. To date, the company has identified several primary targets, including the RPM zone, Alloy Max, Super Gulp and Chrome Pond.
On March 31, the First Atlantic announced that it had been accepted as a member of the US Defense Industrial Base Consortium under the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy, which manages investments, including those under the Defense Production Act.
The release outlines how the Pipeline XL project addresses significant issues outlined under by the Department of Defense, including the sourcing of nickel and cobalt in North America and the separation and upscaling for metal production.
As the awaruite mineralization at Pipestone XL is a metallic alloy with magnetic properties, First Atlantic has been developing the Onshore Max smelter-free magnetic alloy extraction process.
The company has continued to develop the process, and on June 24, reported that it produced alloy concentrates with an average grade of 67.4 percent nickel, reaching heights of 71.9 percent nickel and 1.76 percent cobalt from RPM zone rock samples. The test used a two-stage process starting with low-intensity magnetic separation, followed by flotation, skipping the typical midstream stages of smelting, roasting and high-pressure acid leaching.
Shares in First Atlantic Nickel and Cobalt reached a year-to-date high of C$1.28 on June 5.
Year-to-date gain: 112.5 percent
Market cap: C$11.77 million
Share price: C$0.085
NiCan is a nickel exploration company working to advance a pair of projects in Manitoba, Canada: the Wine nickel-copper project and the Pipy nickel property.
Its primary focus since the start of the year has been on its Pipy property, located near the active Thompson nickel mine currently owned by Vale (NYSE:VALE). The Pipy project consists of two areas: Pipy North and Pipy South.
A Phase 1 reconnaissance exploration at Pipy South that started in late 2025 has resulted in multiple discoveries driving the company’s news flow and strategy in 2026.
On February 17, NiCan confirmed high-grade nickel-bearing massive sulfides at the site within the Pipe formation. One highlighted assay from diamond drilling returned 1.54 percent nickel 0.17 percent copper and 0.06 percent cobalt over 1.45 meters at a depth of 60 meters.
The company said the program achieved its primary objective of confirming nickel mineralization at the property. It will use the results to plan a follow-up program to test the horizon over a 5 kilometer strike.
In addition to the nickel results, on February 9 NiCan revealed the discovery of near-surface gold with assay results, and followed this up with further gold assays on February 18. One highlight from the second release demonstrated grades of 1 gram per metric ton (g/t) gold and 12.2 g/t silver over 19.45 meters.
The company’s share price spiked from C$0.045 to C$0.08 on February 20, just days after the nickel and gold discovery news, and continued upwards from there.
As a follow-up to the gold discovery, on March 5, the company acquired 13 additional claims adjacent to the Pipy South area, bringing the total land package of both sites to 57 square kilometers.
On March 24, NiCan announced it commenced a follow-up drill program at Pipy South to expand on both the gold discovery and test down-dip and on-strike of the nickel-bearing massive sulfide system. The company said the program was planned for 12 to 15 holes over 2,500 meters.
In its June 2026 investor presentation, the company noted the drill program was complete, with assays pending and follow-up exploration in progress.
Shares of NiCan reached a year-to-date high of C$0.145 on April 21.
4. Nickel 28 Capital (TSXV:NKL)
Year-to-date gain: 43.9 percent
Market cap: C$104.13 million
Share price: C$1.18
Nickel 28 is a developer and producer that owns an 8.56 percent stake in the Ramu nickel-cobalt operation in Papua New Guinea. The majority owner, with an 85 percent interest, is Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC) (HKEX:1618), and local stakeholders own the remaining 6.44 percent.
Nickel 28 acquired its stake in the operation in 2019 when it took over Highlands Pacific. Its stake will increase to 11.3 percent following repayment of the construction and development loans Highlands incurred, after which Nickel 28’s attributable annual production is expected to rise to 3,800 metric tons of nickel and 800,000 pounds of cobalt. Additionally, it will be granted the option to acquire an additional 9.25 percent stake in the mine.
On February 23, the company released its operational results for the final quarter of 2025 and full year. Full year production at Ramu totaled 33,007 metric tons of contained nickel in mixed hydroxide precipitate, an increase from the 28,669 metric tons produced in 2024. Guidance for 2026 is set at 33,100 metric tons of nickel.
The company also said that while the site will undergo a full renovation of two sulfuric acid plants in 2026, additional tanks have been constructed to avert a shutdown of operations.
On April 15, Nickel 28 announced that MCC, the mine operator, had filed a proposal for a Phase 2 expansion of the operation that would double the production capacity at Ramu and cost approximately US$1.6 billion.
Nickel 28 noted that because of the material change in the operation, MCC must make an offer to buy out minority joint venture partners at fair market value. For its part, Nickel 28 said that it is currently analyzing and evaluating its options under the JV agreement.
The most recent news from the operation came on June 10, when the company announced its Q1 2026 operating results, stating that production at Ramu had increased to 8,785 metric tons of nickel, from 6,970 metric tons in Q1 2025.
Shares of Nickel 28 reached a year-to-date high of C$1.28 on May 1.
5. Class 1 Nickel and Technologies (CSE:NICO)
Year-to-date gain: 39.13 percent
Market cap: C$31.47 million
Share price: C$0.16
Class 1 Nickel and Technologies is an exploration and development company working to advance its Alexo-Dundonald nickel sulfide project, located near Timmins in Ontario, Canada. It also owns two other projects, Somanike in Québec, Canada, and River Valley in Ontario.
The Alexo-Dundonald project is composed of 106 mining claims, 29 patents and 14 leases covering 3,730 hectares. The site hosts four deposits: the Dundonald North and South deposits, and the past-producing Alexo and Alexo South mines.
In March 2025, the company released an updated resource estimate for the Dundonald North deposit at Alexo-Dundonald. The deposit hosts an inferred resource of 42 million pounds of nickel, 2.6 million pounds of copper and 1.2 million pounds of cobalt from 2.5 million metric tons of ore with average grades of 0.75 percent nickel, 0.05 percent copper and 0.02 percent cobalt.
Somanike is a nickel project that consists of 148 mining titles, covering an area of 6,882 hectares, and hosts the past-producing Marbridge nickel sulfide mine. Marbridge was operated by Falconbridge Nickel and placed on care and maintenance in 1968, with the mine’s four mineralized zones remaining open to expansion drilling.
The other project is the River Valley project in Ontario, which covers 2,916 hectares and hosts mineralization of platinum-group metals, copper and nickel.
Class 1 Nickel’s most recent news came on June 11, when it announced that it had closed a non-brokered private placement raising gross proceeds of C$320,939. Additionally, Class 1 said it had completed a share-for-debt transaction, issuing 16.6 million shares to the company’s CEO, David Fitch, to settle the C$2 million owed to him by the company.
The company’s only other 2026 press release came in May, when it announced the placement.
Shares of Class 1 Nickel reached a year-to-date high of C$0.25 on January 13.
FAQs for nickel investing
How to invest in nickel?
There are a variety of ways to invest in nickel, but stocks and exchange-traded products are the most common. Nickel-focused companies can be found globally on various exchanges, and through the use of a broker or a service such as an app, investors can purchase companies and products that match their investing outlook.
Before buying a nickel stock, potential investors should take time to research the companies they’re considering; they should also decide how many shares will be purchased, and what price they are willing to pay. With many options on the market, it’s critical to complete due diligence before making any investment decisions.
Nickel stocks like those mentioned above could be a good option for investors interested in the space. Experienced investors can also look at nickel futures.
What is nickel used for?
Nickel has a variety of applications, including stainless steel, coins and lithium-ion batteries. Its main use is an alloy material for products such as stainless steel, and it is also used for plating metals to reduce corrosion. As for coins, its uses include the 5 cent coin, named the nickel, in the US and Canada; the US nickel is made up of 25 percent nickel and 75 percent copper, while Canada’s nickel has nickel plating that makes up 2 percent of its composition.
Nickel is also used in certain lithium-ion battery compositions, bringing demand from sectors like electric vehicles and energy storage systems.
Where is nickel mined?
The world’s top nickel-producing countries are primarily in Asia: Indonesia, the Philippines and Russia make up the top three. Rounding out the top five nickel producers are Canada and New Caledonia.
Indonesia’s production stands far ahead of the rest of the pack, with the country’s 2025 output of 2.6 million metric tons far ahead of the Philippines’ 270,000 metric tons and Russia’s 200,000 metric tons. Canada produced 140,000 metric tons of nickel last year, while the United States produced 10,000.
Significant nickel miners include Norilsk Nickel (MCX:GMKN), Nickel Asia, BHP (ASX:BHP,NYSE:BHP,LSE:BHP) and Glencore (LSE:GLEN,OTCPL:GLCNF).
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Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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