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.
