In preparation for the 2026 proxy season, we are pleased to share our 2025 Trends in Corporate Governance Report, our 11th annual comprehensive guide to the key trends, risks, and challenges facing Canada’s public companies.

In June 2025 Glass Lewis sent an email to its subscribers to announce an update to the quantitative pay-for-performance model which will take effect in 2026. As a Glass Lewis subscriber, Laurel Hill has access to this information and has provided a summary below. The changes are tied to feedback from Glass Lewis’ ongoing investor and issuer engagement.

Dual-listed Canadian issuers may find that shareholders who are 13G filers (i.e. own more than 5% of the issuer’s common shares) may be less willing to engage with the board and management based on the recent staff guidance from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Laurel Hill Advisory Group (Canada) is proud to be Canada’s leader in strategic shareholder communications and advisory services in 2024 by total number of publicly disclosed mandates and by Bloomberg Global Activism League Tables for activism mandates.

Laurel Hill Advisory Group (Canada) is pleased to share our 2024 Trends in Shareholder Activism Report covering the latest information and data on board and transactional activism, unsolicited offers, and short-selling activism. Our annual guide to the shareholder activism trends, risks and challenges facing public company boards and management teams goes far beyond the numbers and digs into the activism stories and developments that shape the Canadian landscape.

ISS has released its 2025 Benchmark Policy Updates, which include key changes to proxy voting guidelines for Canada and the rest of the world. Laurel Hill has summarized the Canadian policy updates below, which will apply to all shareholder meetings held on or after February 1, 2025. The complete text of ISS’ 2025 Proxy Voting Guidelines Update is available here.

Glass Lewis recently released its 2025 Benchmark Policy Guidelines for the Canadian market. Laurel Hill has summarized these changes below, including policy updates and clarifying amendments, which will take effect for all meetings held during the 2025 calendar year. The full text of Glass Lewis’ 2025 Benchmark Policy Guidelines for Canada can be found here. 

On December 19, 2023, ISS released its 2024 Policy Guidelines for Canada. Below is a summary of the voting policy updates and clarifying amendments which will take effect for all meetings held after February 1, 2024. ISS’ 2024 Policy Update can be found here.