Below are key takeaways from ISS’ recently released Canada 2022 Proxy Season Preview. 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.
- Virtual-only meetings are expected to continue, even though pandemic restrictions are now starting to be lifted.
- Executive compensation is expected to remain under investor scrutiny after a record number of failed say-on-pay votes and increased shareholder dissent in 2021. Focus will turn to how companies have addressed investor concerns.
- Shareholder proposals related to climate are increasing, and other environmental issues such as plastic waste and biodiversity, and social issues are also on proponents’ target lists.
- Regulatory updates continue to focus on climate and diversity, but also on cyber risk. Mandatory say-on-pay votes have not yet been adopted.
- M&A activity continues to pick up in number and size, but the number of public proxy contests may remain at a low level.
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 Karl Bossi, Katerin Caseles, Rishima Kathuria, Shehrbano Khan, Debra Sisti, Nick Stiege, John Vizikas, Jessica Wang, Anna Wong, Anqi Xu
