The Globe and Mail attempts to identify Canadian stocks with sustainable, growing dividends in its Thursday edition. The Globe's Ian Tam writes in the Number Cruncher column that many Canadian investors continue to rely on banks as a part of their core equity holdings. Recent commentaries from bank executives citing the challenges of low interest rates and depressed economic growth may lead investors to seek out additional ideas. As a result, Mr. Tam looked for companies in Canada that have a history of growing dividends -- and the capacity to continue to grow these dividends in the future. A key measure of this sustainability is the payout ratio, which is the ratio of dividends paid to either cash flows or earnings. A company paying out too high of a percentage in dividends is likely unable to continue to do so in the future. Mr. Tam's picks had to have a payout ratio on cash flow of less than 60 per cent, as well as a payout ratio on earnings of less than 60 per cent. Only companies with a market cap greater than $1.4-billion were considered. Stocks with a history of growing dividends are Suncor Energy, Alimentation Couche-Tard, West Fraser Timber, Cogeco Cable and Pason Systems.