The stock of (CNQ) pushed substantially higher this winter, clearing major psychological resistance at $50, before pulling back in healthy-correction fashion.

Further, given the better than 50% gain, if you bought Canadian Natural Resources when first discussed here at the split-adjusted price of $31.80 on May 24, 2010, now may be a good time to consider taking some profits off the table with CNQ.

The shares of independent oil/natural gas company Devon Energy Corp (DVN), first discussed on May 27, 2009, at a price of $60.89, misbehaved this summer, and the downtrend is a concern.

The company is transforming itself in to a pure onshore exploration and production company and divesting offshore assets. Devon's oil sands/shale production will only partially offset natural gas production declines, stemming from a soft natural gas market. The company will also spend about $2 billion on shale plays in 2010, hence a sustained, high oil price is critical, given the higher production costs associated with oil sands extraction.

I first wrote about Suncor Energy (SU) on February 5, 2009, at a price of $18.35. Shares of the Canada-based oil sands play have meandered for the past three months, but I still like the business model. Here's why.

Recent volatility is in part due to the uncertainty surrounding future oil exploration regulations, as a result of the massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Oil sands recovery does not represent as large a risk to the environment as drilling a mile (or more) beneath the ocean, but land-based oil exploration may face tougher regulations, moving forward, nonetheless.

This post is part of a special annual report -- Top Stock Picks '09 -- in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked 75 leading newsletter advisors to select their favorite investment for the new year.

"Like the U.S., Canada is looking to big infrastructure plans," says Roger Conrad. In The Canadian Edge, he looks to Bird Construction Income Fund (OTC: BIRDF) as his top pick for 2009.

The Canadian income stock specialist explains, "The U.S. isn't the only country about to pour billions into infrastructure; Canada is also making a big move. And Bird Construction will be a prime beneficiary of this infrastructure spending.

"Bird has been a dominant player in building design and construction services for more than 85 years. Today, the company literally has its hands in every province, supporting projects for everything from oil sands mining to school construction.

"Third quarter 2008 revenue surged 31.5%, pushing nine-month growth to 48.3% as earnings per share more than doubled from 2007 levels.

"Meanwhile, order backlog -- the best predictor of future growth -- rose to better than $1.2 billion (Canadian), up from $821 million a year ago and $969 million at the beginning of 2008.

China National Petroleum Corp, parent of PetroChina Comapny, Ltd. (NYSE: PTR) has gotten rights from the Canadian province of Alberta to drill for oil. But the company plans to do it the hard way.

One of the hopes for replacing dependence on current oil reserves is to drill into tar sands. The ground contains a substance that can be converted to oil, but the process of separating out the material that can be refined is very costly. Then again, so are oil prices. As the price for crude sits near $70 a barrel and China looks to the need for oil and gas to keep its economy moving, tar sands drilling may actually make economic sense.

According to Wikipedia: "Oil sands may represent as much as 2/3 of the world's total petroleum resource." If oil demand continues to rise, tapping this resource may become critical.

Right now, China has no way to get much more than its share of the world's oil production. The economies of Europe, Japan, and the U.S. need the fuel just as much as the big Asian country. But if China is willing to make the investment, it could start to change the game. The communist government does not have the public company P&L issues that big oil companies do. It can put down huge sums of money if it thinks tar sands could solve its problem in the decades ahead.

And that would give China an edge.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.