
On Tuesday, September 16, 2025, Kingsdale Advisors was honoured to welcome a record number of senior executives from Canada’s leading issuers, investment firms, and law firms to our Toronto office for an exclusive panel discussion on the future of proxy advice and shareholder engagement. The event also marked the launch of our 2025 Proxy Season Review, the most comprehensive analysis of the trends and forces reshaping Canadian and U.S. boardrooms.
Our panel featured Nichol Garzon-Mitchell, CLO & SVP of Glass Lewis; Jason Koskela, VP, M&A at the Ontario Securities Commission; Catherine McCall, CEO of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance (CCGG); and Shengjun (Victor) Li, EVP, Governance Advisory at Kingsdale Advisors. With opening remarks from our Founder and CEO, Wes Hall, and moderation by our President, Aaron Boles, the discussion explored the findings of this year’s review and outlined actionable next steps for boards and executives preparing for the 2026 proxy season.
To learn more, we invite you to read our in-depth 2025 Proxy Season Review, which provides a comprehensive look at activism, regulation, ESG, AI, and the evolving role of proxy advisors.
View highlights from the event in our photo gallery.


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Wes Hall On Canada's 2026 Proxy Season: Early Insights
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* Source: Bloomberg Global Shareholder Activism League Tables FY2025 and LSEG Global Shareholder Activism Review FY2025.
#2025 and 2026 indicate proxy seasons: July 2024 to June 2026.