Find Allies Against Inflation in Canada

You can win in an inflationary market. You just can't win with the U.S. hand. We are an anti-inflation based economy, meaning we are not an economy based on raw natural resources.

But don't despair. Just look north. Canada is the opposite of the U.S. It has an abundance of minerals and, as The Wall Street Journal notes this morning, a currency that is still undervalued relative to the nation's worth, even as it might be overvalued relative to short-term rates. (U.S. short-term rates are higher than Canada's, which explains the differential.)

To me, the chance to invest in a country that's correctly situated in an inflationary environment that isn't in the hands of the Fed -- meaning, the Fed doesn't control natural resource inflation -- is too juicy. The Canadian ETF, iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund (EWC - commentary - Cramer's Take), is kind of mouthwatering.

Even better, though, might be the virtually untalked-about Teck Cominco, which trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange as Class A and B shares. I come to Teck Cominco in frustration that so many other resource companies are overweighted in aluminum or levered to steel, two long-term losers simply because China makes them in abundance.

Teck Cominco's got zinc, copper, coal and, best of all, oil sands. Hey, four things the Chinese need but don't have enough of! Plus, TC has gold. Although I don't like gold when the Fed is tightening, it's never a negative in an inflationary environment.

To me, the real play is to buy Teck Cominco up in Canada. You get the double-whammy I am looking for.

The stock's not undiscovered; it's up 100% over the last year, like all the resource plays. But unlike the others, it is not playing with the lead weight of aluminum, so it does, indeed, have further to go.

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James J. Cramer is a director and co-founder of TheStreet.com. He contributes daily market commentary for TheStreet.com's sites and serves as an adviser to the company's CEO. Outside contributing columnists for TheStreet.com and RealMoney.com, including Cramer, may, from time to time, write about stocks in which they have a position. In such cases, appropriate disclosure is made. To see his personal portfolio and find out what trades Cramer will make before he makes them, sign up for ActionAlertsPLUS by clicking here. While he cannot provide personalized investment advice or recommendations, he invites you to send comments on his column by clicking here. Listen to Cramer's RealMoney Radio show on your computer; just click here. Watch Cramer on "Mad Money" at 6 p.m. ET weeknights on CNBC. Click here to order Cramer's latest book, "Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World," click here to get his second book, "You Got Screwed!" and click here to order Cramer's autobiography, "Confessions of a Street Addict." Cramer appreciates your feedback and invites you to send him an email by clicking here.