Canadian proxy contests reaching a vote hit a five-year high, campaign volume declined, but the fights that remained went further and hit harder, and boards with real shareholder relationships came out on top.
Download Kingsdale Advisors' most comprehensive look at what's reshaping Canadian and U.S. boardrooms. Covering July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, the report shows a shareholder landscape that's more fragmented and harder to predict, with more of the voting decision moving in-house with investors themselves.
The in-depth research also examines CEO succession at S&P/TSX Composite companies overthe past three years, and what the difference between planned and reactive transitions reveals about board preparedness.
- Contests reaching a vote hit a five-year high, up 39% year over year.
- Large-cap activist targets more than doubled, from 4% to 9%.
- M&A activism drove 40% of campaigns, above the five-year average.
- Say-on-Pay support reached a five-year high of 93.4%.
- Governance proposals more than doubled to 56.
Latest Insights
ISS 2023 Benchmark Policy Updates
On December 1, 2022, ISS released updates to its 2023 benchmark proxy voting policies. The updated policies will apply to shareholder meetings taking place on or after February 1, 2023, except for those that are being announced now with a one-year transition period and which will become effective in 2024.
2022 Proxy Season Snapshot
An early look at the key trends and major issues affecting shareholder activism and corporate governance in 2022.
2022 AGM Checklist
The 10 key questions every Canadian company and board needs to critically consider ahead of their 2022 annual general meeting.
When The Stakes Are Highest, Business Leaders Choose Kingsdale
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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.