* TSX ends up 0.1% at 22,185.25

* Materials sector climbs 1.5%; gold hits new record high

* Energy gains 1.2%; oil settles at highest since October

* Ballard Power Systems shares surge 18%

April 1 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index edged up to a new all-time high on Monday as investors cheered recent signs of economic growth, with gains for resource shares offseting declines for utilities and heavily-weighted financials.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended up 18.22 points, or 0.1%, at 22,185.25, eclipsing Friday's record high closing level.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see some back and fill but the path of least resistance is up because we have decent growth but slowing inflation, so interest rates shouldn't really be a big problem," said Joseph Abramson, co-chief investment officer at Northland Wealth Management.

"The key issue is the action beneath the surface, where we're still driven by this narrow group and so the sectors that Canada tends to have more exposure to, the banks and energy and materials, still participate but in all likelihood underperform," Abramson said.

The TSX has gained 5.9% since the start of the year, trailing a gain of nearly 10% for the S&P 500 which has been aided by optimism over AI-related stocks.

The materials sector, which includes metal miners and fertilizer companies, climbed 1.5% as gold moved to a fresh record high and copper prices rose.

Energy was also up, rising 1.2%, as the price of oil settled 0.7% higher at $83.71 a barrel, its highest closing level since October.

Ballard Power Systems was a standout. Its shares surged 18% after the fuel cell maker announced its largest ever order.

Private equity firm Advent International has agreed to buy Nuvei in an all-cash deal that values the Ryan Reynolds-backed payments technology firm at $6.3 billion. Nuvei's shares added 2.7%.

Financials were a drag, falling 0.6%, while the utilities group was down 0.8% as bond yields climbed following data that showed growth in the U.S. manufacturing sector. (Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta Agarwal and Costas Pitas)