The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, Aug. 31, edition that Canadian financial stocks are market darlings in Canada. The Globe's guest columnist Sean Pugliese writes in the Number Cruncher column that Canada's big banks are in the midst of quarterly financial reporting. Toronto-Dominion Bank and Royal Bank of Canada shared their results last week, and the remaining banks are doing so this week. Results have varied, but in general seem to be slightly weak. Given the continued interest rate hikes so far this year coupled with potential economic softening, Mr. Pugliese took a closer look at Canadian financial stocks using an investment philosophy focused on safety and value. He only considered financial companies with a minimum market capitalization of $5-billion. He only looked at companies that offered a dividend. As well, he considered earnings momentum and return on equity. He looked to the debt-to-equity ratio as his final safety ratio. Mr. Pugliese's stocks offering safety and value are Sun Life Financial, Great-West Lifeco, Intact Financial, National Bank of Canada and Fairfax Financial Holdings. Mr. Pugliese notes that Fairfax offers the best profitability and value.