Canada | Publication | July 2, 2025
Even when shareholder proposals fall short at the polls, their influence can resonate beyond the vote count and plant the seed for potential shifts in shareholder engagement themes. Whether it’s nudging companies toward greater transparency—think enhanced disclosure of directors’ linguistic or environmental skills—or reviving debates about the merits of in-person annual general meetings, these proposals have a knack for keeping corporate boards on their toes.
As the 2025 proxy season draws to a close for Canada’s largest public companies, we have seen a shift towards fewer, but more resolute, shareholder initiatives. Indeed, the volume of proposals submitted to TSX 60 issuers has notably receded, with nearly 30% fewer submissions compared to 2024 as of June 27, 2025.
This moderation is not limited to numbers alone; the composition of participants has also evolved. While the familiar voices of Mouvement d’éducation et de défense des actionnaires (MÉDAC), The Accountability Board, InvestNow and the Shareholder Association for Research and Education continued to drive the vast majority of proposals, the presence of one-time activists was markedly subdued this proxy season.
Interestingly, while fewer proposals are being submitted overall, a significantly smaller proportion are being withdrawn before reaching a vote; proportionally, approximately half as many proposals were withdrawn in 2025 as compared to 2024.
So, what exactly made it onto the ballot in 2025? Below are five trends that came into focus.
The 2025 proxy season saw a pronounced surge in shareholder proposals focused on AI governance as compared to 2024, where AI was virtually absent from the ballot. The Voluntary Code of Conduct on the Responsible Development and Management of Advanced Generative AI Systems was at the forefront, with proposals to adhere to the Code of Conduct submitted by MÉDAC to a broad spectrum of issuers, including all major Canadian banks. Although support for AI-related proposals remained relatively modest, ranging between approximately 2% and 17%, it is clear AI has become a core governance issue, demanding board-level attention and oversight.
After several years of robust activity, the volume of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) proposals submitted to TSX 60 issuers appears to have decreased in 2025. The once-ubiquitous presence of ESG-related submissions gave way to a more subdued showing, suggesting a recalibration of shareholder priorities or perhaps a sense of “ESG fatigue.” This trend comes contemporaneously with the Canadian Securities Administrators putting mandatory climate-related and diversity disclosure rules and amendments on hold.
Despite this overall slowdown, climate risk management remained a persistent theme, with shareholders continuing to press companies on their strategies for addressing climate-related risks.
In contrast to the wave of anti-ESG activism seen in the United States, Canada’s 2025 proxy season saw fewer proposals seeking to roll back ESG initiatives. Only a small number of anti-ESG proposals appeared on the ballots, primarily targeting major banks’ involvement in the Net-Zero Banking Alliance and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero. Most of these proposals were swiftly withdrawn, particularly as several banks independently chose to exit these alliances.
In 2025, the distinct focus on racial and gender diversity as standalone topics all but disappeared from the proxy landscape. The sole exception was a proposal calling for oversight and publication of a third-party racial equity audit, specifically aimed at examining the company’s potential adverse impacts on non-white stakeholders and communities of colour.
Shareholders have been increasingly demanding transparency on executive compensation, with a focus on CEO-to-median-employee pay ratios and internal pay metrics. In 2025, several compensation-related proposals specifically requested detailed disclosure about the internal pay metrics used to determine executive compensation—including how these metrics compare executive and non-executive pay—and explanations of how these metrics influence compensation decisions for the CEO and senior executives. While support remains modest (ranging between approximately 7% and 12% of votes in favour), this trend reflects growing pressure for accountability and transparency in corporate compensation practices.
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