The Globe and Mail attempts to identify dividend stocks with the capacity to grow their payments in its Thursday, Dec. 18, edition. The Globe's Tim Shufelt writes in the Number Cruncher column that with rates unlikely to rise any time soon, dividend stocks will remain well positioned at least through the first half of 2015. As a result, Mr. Shufelt went looking for Canadian stocks with decent yields and potential dividend growth. First he screened for stocks listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange with indicated yields of at least 3 per cent. Then he looked for companies with a good history of growing dividends. Eligible stocks needed to have a five-year dividend growth rate of greater than 5 per cent. Mr. Shufelt also wanted companies that do not appear under any strain to maintain dividends, so he excluded stocks with dividend payout ratios of greater than 65 per cent. Lastly, to help identify companies with a history of profitability in different economic conditions, Mr. Shufelt set a minimum five-year average return on equity at 8 per cent. Stocks presenting dividend strength are National Bank of Canada, Laurentian Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Nova Scotia.