TORONTO (Bloomberg) - Canadian stocks rose a fifth day, the longest rally since January 6, on optimism that US plans to boost the economy and bail out banks will revive commodity demand and support financial institutions.

EnCana Corp. gained 2.8 percent and energy shares climbed to the highest in more than three weeks as natural-gas prices notched their longest winning streak in three months. Bank of Nova Scotia had its steepest gain this month after Barron's said the lender may rise about 20 percent in two years because it largely side-stepped writedowns tied to US debt investments. Barrick Gold Corp. fell 4.5 percent as bullion retreated.

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index rose 0.4 percent to 9,047.28 in Toronto. US lawmakers prepared to vote on President Barack Obama's more than $800 billion stimulus plan yesterday and today, while Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is due to announce a bank-rescue package today.

"The Obama plan will finally stick," said Pierre Bernard, who helps manage about $1 billion in assets at Industrial Alliance Fund Management in Montreal. "He'll succeed in making confidence come back into the market."

Bernard has a year-end target of 11,000 for the S&P/TSX, the main benchmark for Canadian stocks, implying an advance of about 22 percent from 2008, when it lost 35 percent in its worst decline since 1931. The S&P/TSX has added 0.7 percent in 2009, making it the only index among the world's 10 biggest developed markets to post a gain this year.

EnCana, North America's biggest publicly traded natural-gas producer, rose C$1.55 to C$57.86, the highest price in a month.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. added 4.3 percent to C$47.36. Canada's second-biggest gas company was raised to "neutral" from "sell" at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Canadian Natural also owns the Horizon oilsands project in Alberta.

Canadian Oil Sands Trust, the largest oilsands producer, gained 4.7 percent to C$22, rising for an eighth consecutive session. Talisman Energy Inc., the oil and gas producer with reserves in North America and the North Sea, added 4.1 percent to C$13.34.

Natural gas futures rose a fourth-straight day on the New York Mercantile Exchange for the first time since November, adding 0.7 percent to $4.807 per million British thermal units on speculation that Obama's stimulus plan will add to industrial and power generation use of the fuel. Oil prices climbed above $41 a barrel before retreating on speculation that US stockpiles are still increasing.

Scotiabank climbed 4.3 percent to C$31.17, the most since January 28. Canada's third-largest bank by assets may rise to C$36 in the next two years because it avoided major losses from the collapse of the US mortgage market, Barron's reported, citing investors and analysts.

Separately, Scotiabank was upgraded, along with Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank, to "neutral" from "sell" by Dundee Securities analyst John Aiken in Toronto. Valuations have declined and it's probable that the banks will rally "even with modestly stable earnings in the first quarter," which they are scheduled to begin reporting later this month, the Toronto-based analyst said in a note to clients.

Toronto-Dominion, the nation's second-largest bank, gained 2.2 percent to C$40.69. Royal Bank, the biggest, added one percent to C$31.82.

Measures of energy and financial shares, which together account for more than half of the S&P/TSX's value, advanced 2.2 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively, the biggest gains as seven of 10 industries in the index advanced. Raw-materials producers slipped three percent.

Barrick Gold, the biggest bullion producer, fell C$2.18 to C$45.82. Goldcorp Inc., the world's second-largest by market value, fell 3.5 percent to C$36.09.

April gold futures fell the most in four weeks, sliding 2.4 percent to $892.80 an ounce in New York on speculation that the stimulus package may be smaller than originally envisaged, which would ease future inflation and cut demand for gold as a hedge.