TORONTO. April 15, 2025. Investors at three of Canada’s biggest banks have set new records for supporting climate-related shareholder proposals at Canadian financial institutions.
The proposals — put forward by SHARE, the Shareholder Association for Research and Education — were voted on at the recent annual general meetings (AGMs) for Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (TSX:CIBC) and Toronto-Dominion (TSX:TD).
With their historic support, investors have sent a clear request to each of these banks to disclose its energy finance ratio – a dollar-for-dollar comparison of how a financial institution funds renewable vs. non-renewable energy.
The proposal at Toronto-Dominion received 38.3 per cent support from shareholders – the highest amount ever recorded for a climate-related proposal at a Canadian bank. The same proposal received 37.1 per cent support from shareholders at CIBC and 32.4 per cent support at BMO, representing the second- and third-highest historical support for a climate resolution at a Canadian bank.
“When more than a third of your investors take action and vote yes, it is a clear signal that shareholders are hungry for concrete financial data on how you are prepared to take advantage of the global transition to clean energy,” said Amanda Carr, Associate Director of Climate Advocacy at SHARE.
“Many of these banks’ competitors are already reporting their energy finance ratios, or have committed to doing so. Financial institutions that fail to heed this signal from shareholders risk being left even further behind.”
Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RBC) is expected to report its energy finance ratio in the coming weeks, based on comments by the bank’s CEO at its AGM on April 10. In the U.S., JPMorgan has begun reporting its ratio and Citibank has also committed to doing so.
It’s not just climate-related measures that investors at Canadian banks are backing; a proposal on racial equity also received strong support at a recent bank AGM.
That proposal, which urges the Bank of Nova Scotia (TXS:BNS) to conduct a racial equity audit, received 37.7 per cent of shareholder votes.
“Taken together, these results are a clear indication that investors expect Canadian companies to continue to take action and report evidence on environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics,” said Carr.
“Investors aren’t making these requests for purely social or environmental reasons. These proposals request the adoption of evidence-backed tools, add value in terms of risk mitigation and enable banks to identify new business opportunities – which is why shareholders have supported them in historic numbers.”
For more information or to arrange an interview, contact SHARE Communications Manager Adam Burns at aburns@share.ca.
