Canopy top pot performer

Photo: The Canadian Press

Canopy Growth Corp. said the cannabis industry's credibility has received a boost after it topped the Toronto Stock Exchange's inaugural list of top 30 performing stocks over the past three years.

"It's still trying to find its place amongst the elite companies in Canada, so I think this is another step forward in that regard," said Jordan Sinclair, vice-president of communications at the company.

The list, based on dividend-adjusted share price appreciation, features both established and newer publicly-listed firms from 583 eligible Canadian companies.

Canopy's shares have appreciated by 1,823 per cent as of June 30 from three years earlier, more than double the second-place finisher Shopify Inc. at 883 per cent. Aphria Inc. was another cannabis producer on the list in sixth place, with shares climbing 479 per cent.

The TSX30 accolade has the potential to attract people and investors to the company despite some of the challenges it has faced in its financial results, said Sinclair.

"We're still in the process of making first impressions with people," he said in an interview. "This is a fantastic way for us to be introduced to more Canadians so we're excited about that aspect."

The TMX Group said the TSX30 will be an annual recognition program similar to the Venture50 that has been running from almost 15 years.

"We created the program to recognize the 30 top performing companies that may otherwise fly under the radar to the average retail investor," spokeswoman Catherine Kee wrote in an email.

The new program features "some of the most compelling success stories among our listed issuers, including companies operating in traditional areas of strength like natural resources and also in newly defined sectors like clean tech and cannabis," added Loui Anastasopoulos, president of capital formation at TMX Group.

Eight of the firms on the list are graduates of the TSX Venture Exchange.

The mining sector has the most names on the list, which also includes well-known firms such as Air Canada, CAE Inc., BRP Inc. and CargoJet Inc.