Below are key takeaways from ISS’ recently released Canada 2021 Proxy Season Review. The full report is available to institutional subscribers by logging into ProxyExchange then selecting the Governance Exchange and its Report Center tab and to corporate subscribers by logging into Governance Analytics then selecting the Governance Exchange and the Report Center tab.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Compensation: There was a slight dip in average support levels for say-on-pay resolutions from 93 percent to 92 percent; however, pay-for-performance misalignments at several companies lead to a record number of six failed say-on-pay resolutions.
- Climate: Canadian National Railwayplaced a management say-on-climate resolution on the ballot, the first of its kind, while Canadian Pacific Railway shareholders approved a shareholder proposal requesting a say-on-climate vote.
- Shareholder Proposals: The overall number of shareholder proposals on ballot was at a multi-year low due to a marked increase in settled/withdrawn proposals.
- M&A: Transaction volumes are nearly back to pre-pandemic levels.
- Regulatory: Climate change and diversity continue to be focus areas of regulators.
If you are not a subscriber, please contact sales@issgovernance.com (for institutional investors) or contactus@isscorporatesolutions.com (for corporations) to learn more about accessing bespoke governance research.
By Katerin Caseles, Rishima Kathuria, Shehrbano Khan, Debra Sisti, Nicholas Stiege, John Vizikas, Jessica Wang, Anna Wong, Chintan Zala
