Notice-and-Access Rules for CBCA Corporations

Summary#

This notice proposes changes to the Canada Business Corporations Regulations, 2001 and the Canada Cooperatives Regulations to let federally incorporated public companies use the same “notice-and-access” delivery rules already used under provincial securities law. If adopted, these changes would allow many public corporations to send smaller paper packages and put full meeting materials online, cutting printing and mailing costs. The proposal was published on October 17, 2026 and is open for comment for 30 days.

What it does#

• Lets distributing corporations governed by the Canada Business Corporations Act use the province-and-territory version of National Instrument 51-102 (NI 51-102) for delivering meeting materials under a notice-and-access model.
• Allows a corporation that uses notice-and-access to satisfy its duty to send financial statements by including a link to those statements in the notice-and-access package.
• Keeps the old rule for non-distributing corporations and any distributing corporations that do not use notice-and-access: they must still send full meeting materials to shareholders.
• Moves some details from the main Acts into the regulations so the federal rules line up with provincial securities rules.
• Gives the federal director the power to exempt a corporation or cooperative from sending meeting materials in cases where doing so would not harm shareholders or the public interest.
• Includes minor administrative and timing details. The regulations are expected to come into force when the remaining provisions of Bill C-25 are brought into effect, currently expected in summer 2027.

Who's affected#

• Distributing corporations — typically publicly traded companies that sell shares to the public. These are the main group expected to use notice-and-access.
• Shareholders of those corporations, who may receive a shorter paper package and be asked to go online to view full materials.
• Intermediaries (for example, brokers and transfer agents) that handle delivery of meeting materials.
• Cooperatives and non-distributing corporations are generally not changed, except for some administrative updates and the possible exemption power.
• The public regulator and service bodies such as Corporations Canada and provincial securities regulators, because the federal rules are being aligned with provincial rules.
• Small businesses are not expected to be affected by these changes.

Why it matters#

• Cost savings: The government’s analysis estimates net savings of $88.8 million over 10 years (mainly from avoided printing and mailing). The present-value estimate of printing and mailing savings is about $90.7 million, with incremental costs of $1.8 million to handle paper-on-request and electronic distribution.
• Environmental impact: Sending fewer full paper packages means less paper, printing and shipping — which reduces resource use and emissions.
• Practical convenience: Aligning federal rules with provincial notice-and-access practice removes the need for many companies to seek yearly exemptions. That should reduce administrative burden and let corporations adopt a modern, online-first approach to shareholder communications.
• Shareholder access: Most shareholders would be expected to access materials online, but a small number can still request paper copies. The analysis assumes fewer than 1% will request paper.
• Timing and status: This is a proposed regulation, not law yet. Comments are open for 30 days after October 17, 2026, and the rules would take effect when the related parts of Bill C-25 come into force (expected summer 2027).