Canada is the forgotten stepchild in many global investment portfolios. The country is lumped in with the United States, but there are important differences. Canada is the second-biggest country on earth, the eighth-largest economy in the world, and a natural resources powerhouse. Canada is rich in timber, diamonds, precious metals, industrial metals, energy, and, the most valuable resource of the future, water. Canada is home to 20% of the world's fresh water supply.

Canada's tar sands are home to an estimated 1.7 trillion barrels of oil, more than 6X the reserves in Saudi Arabia. Using current technologies, recoverable reserves from tar sands are estimated at 300 billion barrels of oil.

Growing demand for natural resources from Asia's booming economies is certain to bode well for Canada's future economic prosperity, and strong economic growth leads to long-term currency appreciation. Canada is the only big industrialized country to consistently run a budget and current-account surplus.Fidelity Canada (FICDX) offers attractive Canadian dollar exposure. Other Canadian companies that I like include: Aber Diamond (NASDAQ: ABER), Alcan (NYSE: AL), and Bombardier (TORONTO: BBD.B).