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Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU) is a vertically-integrated oil company located in Canada. Unlike its vertically-integrated brethren in the United States, this Canadian stock is up more than 40% this year. By comparison, Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) is down 13%, and ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is down more than 20%.

The reason for the big difference in performance is the weakness in the dollar. That makes Canadian-based Suncor more valuable to investors.

After interviewing 10 US-based financiers in this post and here, I decided to cross the border and ask our neighboring Canadian investors for their insight on the current market conditions and forecast for the year to come.

Danielle Park is President and Portfolio Manager of Venable Park Investment Counsel Inc. She is author of the best selling book "Juggling Dynamite: an insider's wisdom on money management, markets and wealth that lasts" as well as a popular financial blog JugglingDynamite.com. Having become more optimistic near 12 year lows in February 2009, recently Ms. Park has been voicing concern again about the likelihood of another down leg ahead.

"Certain commodities are getting hot again; both copper and gold have the wind at their backs in this market, while uranium has also caught our attention," says Brandon Clay.

In his Invest with an Edge, he explains, "One such company that should gain from a spike in gold, uranium, and copper is Vancouver-based Fronteer Development Group (NYSE: FRG).

"Uranium is a perennially despised substance with a back story in catastrophe, espionage, protests, and nuclear fallout. But this sometimes-sordid history may prove too weak an objection for the outstanding potential in uranium.

"Canadian energy giants Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU) and PetroCanada (NYSE: PCZ) announced their intention to merge; Suncor, a holding in our 'Wildcatters Portfolio' will be the surviving entity," says Elliott Gue.

In his The Energy Strategist, he explains, "The combined firm will be the fifth-largest energy company in North America and the largest in Canada." Here, he explains why the new stock remains a buy.

"The combined firm will have more financial flexibility than Suncor did on its own. Debt ratios will be healthier, and the combined firm will also be able to redirect certain planned capital expenditures to higher return potential projects.

"As the name suggests, Royal Gold (NASDAQ: RGLD) is a royalty company, one of the larger and longest-established of such companies, with a focus on gold," says resource exprt Adrian Day.

In his Global Analyst advisory, he explains, "In my view, the stock offers a combination of growth, low risk, and high potential." Here's his look at this "golden opportunity."

"In the past year, the company has acquired two significant royalty packages, the first last year from Barrick and more recently from Teck Cominco. The Barrick package includes approximately 70 royalties.

"Even before these acquisitions, it had a solid long-term growth record, in royalties and in revenues. Its pipeline is solid, including a royalty on the large Pensasquito mine of Goldcorp; when that ramps up in 2012, it will add about 25% to Royal's revenues.

Industrial metals issue Teck Cominco Limited (NYSE: TCK) is on the upswing following the release of its first-quarter earnings.

The company reported net income of C$241 million, or 50 Canadian cents per share; on an adjusted basis, earnings arrived at 47 cents per share, falling slightly short of analysts' predictions for 51 cents per share. Revenue for the period rose to C$1.71 billion.

Included in the report were several warnings. "It is difficult to forecast coal sales volumes at this stage in the economic cycle and their effect on results for the coming year is uncertain at this time," confessed TCK. For 2009, the firm tentatively expects to sell between 18 and 20 million tons of coal.

"The global oil and gas majors have been brutally wounded since energy prices peaked last July," observes resources expert Eric Roseman.

In his Commodity Trend Alert, he explains, "We believe it's safe to start accumulating these companies again. We're buying one of the largest and best-managed natural gas companies in the world – Encana (NYSE: ECA)."

The advisor notes, "Based in Calgary, Alberta, Encana is Canada's largest natural gas distribution company based on stock market capitalization and natural gas production.

"ECA produces approximately 4.4 billion cubic feet of gas equivalent per day. More than 80% is natural gas - the cleanest burning of all fossil fuels.

I am the Global Editor at MoneyShow.com and each week I interview an investing expert. This week, I spoke with Gordon Pape, editor of The Canada Report, who thinks Toronto may have seen its lows, and he's cautiously optimistic on the loonie, too.

Q. Gordon, since we last spoke, global markets have lost nearly half their value, and the Toronto Stock Exchange's Composite Index has dropped from more than 15,000 to just over 8,700. Have we hit bottom?

A. We are cautiously optimistic, but the recent trillion-dollar bond purchase plan announced by the Federal Reserve is great news for Canada. The flood of cash will likely spur inflation, drive down the value of the US dollar, and raise the price of commodities. It's no surprise that gold [rose] almost $60 an ounce and oil [got] back over $50 a barrel. The Canadian stock market is heavily weighted to commodities, so we are seeing a big lift. I still expect a lot of volatility in the coming months. However, the March 6th TSE low of 7,480 may turn out to have been the bottom for this cycle.

This post is part of a special report, Global advisors look to China.

"Asian markets now trade at valuations below those of other recession periods, yet investors remain extremely negative and unwilling to buy growth," says Asian stock specialist Yiannis Mostrous.

The editor of The Silk Road Investor explains, "This combination will allow prudent bargain-hunters to position themselves for the next cycle." Here, he looks at one Asian favorite -- Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM).

The banking crisis is a nasty mess throughout most of the U.S. and Europe. Just recently Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE: LYG) ceded 75% of its assets to the government of Britain, and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) closed at $1.05 on Monday. Let's not forget JP Morgan Chase & Company (NYSE: JPM) has $87.7 trillion worth of outstanding OTC contracts as of September 30. JPM will not disclose how much of this is toxic.

However, it seems this is not the case everywhere. In Canada, for example, banks look healthier.

Fertilizer firm Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) reported today that its fourth-quarter profit more than doubled, boosted by higher prices, but the firm warned that first-quarter and 2009 earnings will fall short of analysts' expectations. For the recently concluded quarter, POT banked a profit of $788 million, or $2.56 per share, on sales of $1.87 billion. Ahead of the report, Wall Street was expecting earnings of $2.28 per share on revenue of $1.82 billion.

Going forward, Potash Corp. said that 2009 potash shipments will be flat to slightly lower than 2008 levels, though it expects demand will gradually recover during the second half of the year. As a result, the company expects a first-quarter profit of 70 cents to $1 per share, and full-year earnings of $10 to $12 per share. Both figures fall woefully short of analysts' consensus estimates, which call for a first-quarter profit of $1.81 per share and 2009 earnings of $12.72 per share.

This post is part of a special annual report -- Top Stock Picks '09 -- in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked 75 leading newsletter advisors to select their favorite investment for the new year.

"We own several stocks in our portfolio that are selling for less than their book value and with a P/E ratio of less than 5 -- but the prize among bargains is Teck Cominco (NYSE: TCK), our most promising stock for 2009," says Neil Macneale.

In his 2 for 1 newsletter -- which initially buys stocks when they announce 2-for-1 splits, he says, "It would be hard to argue this company is not literally being given away."

Macneale explains, "I bought this stock for the 2-for-1 portfolio over a year and half ago and its stock price has declined by about 90% since then.

"The Canadian mining company produces copper, zinc, gold, and metallurgical coal. All assets are in North America except for most of its copper operations, located in Peru.

"With a PE ratio bouncing between 1 and 2, and a Price-to-Book ratio at around 0.3, you are getting a well-established (1906), well-run asset play for less than its book value, even if existing plant and reserve values are slashed by over 50%.

This post is part of a special annual report -- Top Stock Picks '09 -- in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked 75 leading newsletter advisors to select their favorite investment for the new year.

"Virginia Mines (TSE: VGQ) is an old favorite that is ready to shine again," says Adrian Day. In The Global Analyst, he looks at the firm holding interests in mining entities.

"In the long-odds resource exploration business, Virginia has a better model: it generates prospects which it farms out to partners at an early stage.

"The partners earn in to the properties by spending the exploration dollars. This is the highest-risk part of the exploration process.

"By this model, Virginia is able to maintain its balance sheet and avoid the dilution that bedevils exploration companies. It can then build a portfolio of minority interests in multiple projects which increases its odds of eventual success.

This post is part of a special annual report -- Top Stock Picks '09 -- in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked 75 leading newsletter advisors to select their favorite investment for the new year.

"Like the U.S., Canada is looking to big infrastructure plans," says Roger Conrad. In The Canadian Edge, he looks to Bird Construction Income Fund (OTC: BIRDF) as his top pick for 2009.

The Canadian income stock specialist explains, "The U.S. isn't the only country about to pour billions into infrastructure; Canada is also making a big move. And Bird Construction will be a prime beneficiary of this infrastructure spending.

"Bird has been a dominant player in building design and construction services for more than 85 years. Today, the company literally has its hands in every province, supporting projects for everything from oil sands mining to school construction.

"Third quarter 2008 revenue surged 31.5%, pushing nine-month growth to 48.3% as earnings per share more than doubled from 2007 levels.

"Meanwhile, order backlog -- the best predictor of future growth -- rose to better than $1.2 billion (Canadian), up from $821 million a year ago and $969 million at the beginning of 2008.

This post is part of a special annual report -- Top Stock Picks '09 -- in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked 75 leading newsletter advisors to select their favorite investment for the new year.

"If you're looking for a low-risk stock that's held up well in this dizzying market spiral, here it is: Fortis Inc. (TSE: FTS), my top pick for 2009," says Gordon Pape in The Canada Report.

"Fortis is trading at about the same level now in Canadian dollar terms as it was in early September. How many companies can say that?

"Don't confuse this with the troubled European financial giant of the same name. This Fortis is the largest investor-owned gas and electric distribution utility in Canada. Its regulated holdings include a natural gas utility in British Columbia and electric utilities in five Canadian provinces and three Caribbean countries.

"Third-quarter financial results were very strong and beat analysts' forecasts. Fortis reported net income of $49 million ($0.31 per share) compared to $31 million ($0.20 per share) in the same period of 2007 (figures in Canadian dollars). Year-to-date earnings were $169 million ($1.08 per share) compared to $114 million ($0.86 a share) for the first nine months of 2007.