With the 2020 proxy season well underway, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many issuers to consider changing their annual shareholders' meeting format from a customary in-person meeting to a virtual setting. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, specifically between March 1, 2020 and April 14, 2020, we monitored issuers listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") and the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSX-V") with regards to their 2020 annual shareholders' meetings. Our key takeaways are summarized below.
Virtual meetings have become the new norm – More than 160 TSX and TSX-V issuers announced that they will use virtual technology to hold their 2020 annual shareholders' meeting (either by fully virtual, hybrid or webcasting means). Of these, more than 145 issuers opted for fully virtual or hybrid formats, both of which allow for remote shareholder voting and participation, representing a significant increase since 2019 as illustrated below.
The authors wish to thank Neil Wiener, Jean Michel Lapierre, Gilles Leclerc and Andrea Kruyne for their contribution.
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