The Globe and Mail attempts to identify Canadian small-cap dividend payers in its Tuesday edition. The Globe's Craig McGee writes in the Number Cruncher column that the S&P/TSX composite total return index has posted a gain of 18.9 per cent so far in 2016, compared with a loss of 8.3 per cent last year. Even more impressive has been the surge in the small caps. The S&P/TSX small-cap total return index is currently up 31.3 per cent year to date, bouncing back from a loss of 13.3 per cent in 2015. Within the small-cap subset, Mr. Craig saw dividend payers offer a better safety cushion, dropping by only 7.6 per cent in 2015. The lower volatility was also present on the upside -- but, including only dividend-payers, the small-cap index would still be up about 24 per cent this year. Mr. Craig searched for smaller dividend-paying firms that may offer attractive returns with possibly less volatility. He limited results to companies with market caps between $100-million and $1.5-billion, dividend yields of at least 2 per cent and dividend payout ratios less than 100 per cent. He recommends Intertape Polymer Group, North West Co., Sleep Country Canada Holdings, ZCL Composites and Enerflex.