Silver just had an absolutely wild run in early 2026. We're talking triple-digit price territory, with spot hitting over US$121 per ounce in January. That's not just a blip—it's a structural shift driven by supply deficits and industrial demand that's actually solid. Even with recent pullbacks, silver is still trading way above its 40-year previous high of around US$50.

Obviously, this kind of move gets people looking at the best silver stocks, especially on the Canadian exchanges. The TSX, TSXV, and CSE have seen some seriously strong performers year-to-date as investors rotate into precious metals. I decided to dig into which ones actually delivered the best returns so far this year.

BP Silver on the TSXV has been the standout performer, up over 56% year-to-date. The company kicked things off at C$0.62 back in January and ran up to C$0.93 pretty quickly. They're working the Cosuño project in Bolivia, and the drill results they started releasing in February were genuinely impressive—we're talking 600+ g/t silver grades over multiple meters. That's the kind of stuff that gets exploration investors excited.

Highlander Silver has also been solid, up around 41% this year. They've got a nice mix of assets across Latin America, including the Mercedes mine in Mexico and the Corani project in Peru. The big catalyst was Eric Sprott's US$40 million strategic investment back in January, which definitely signaled confidence in management's plans. That kind of backing from a major investor tends to move the needle.

Honey Badger Silver is another one worth watching—up nearly 29% year-to-date. They just closed on an C$11.5 million private placement to fund their acquisition of the PC silver project in the Northwest Territories. It's a permitted underground operation with existing infrastructure, which is actually a big deal for de-risking a project.

First Majestic Silver, the world's second-biggest silver miner by market cap, is up 23% so far. They operate four mines in Mexico and reported 15.4 million ounces of silver production in 2025. For 2026, they're guiding for 13 to 14.4 million ounces. It's a solid producer with consistent output, though the year-to-date gains have been more measured compared to the smaller explorers.

Silvercorp Metals rounds out the top performers I looked at, up about 22% year-to-date. They're the world's fourth-largest silver miner by market cap and operate in China. Their latest quarterly revenue came in at US$126.1 million, up 51% year-over-year, which shows they're actually benefiting from higher silver prices at the production level.

What's interesting is how the best silver stocks have performed across different company stages—from pure explorers like BP Silver to established producers like First Majestic. The structural tailwinds are real: industrial demand is solid, investment demand is rising as people look for alternatives to gold, and the supply-demand picture actually supports higher prices. If you're looking at the Canadian silver space, these five have been the clear winners so far this year.