Shareholder activism declined in Canada in the first half, mirroring global trends, Diligent Market Intelligence said in a report published Tuesday.
The firm reported that there were 28 activist investor campaigns targeting Canadian companies in the first half, a 30% dip from the same period a year ago.
This decline in Canada echoed an overall drop in the number of companies facing activist demands this year.
Across all regions (the U.S., Canada, Asia, Europe and Australasia), the number of recorded activist efforts was down to 758 this year from 784 in the first six months of 2025. And while Canada saw the biggest percentage drop, the number of campaigns facing U.S. companies was also down in the first half to 408 from 454 last year.
Asia was the only market to see a rise in activism, the report noted.
In Canada, activists continued to target governance-related reforms, with 15 companies seeing these kinds of demands, down slightly from 17 in the same period a year ago.
Most other kinds of activist demands declined this year.
For instance, activist campaigns to get companies to appoint certain personnel were down to just seven this year from 15 last year. And companies facing environmental demands declined to six this year from nine in 2025 .
The number of board seats obtained by activists was steady year over year, with 13 seats secured this year. Almost all of these seats — 12 of the 13 — were obtained through negotiated settlements between companies and investors.
This also echoed a broader trend, the report noted.
“While proxy contests declined, activism evolved with investors increasingly favouring negotiated settlements, strategic M&A campaigns and operational demands centred on AI, capital allocation and board oversight,” it said.
In the U.S., the number of proxy contests was down by 33% this year, the report said — and the number of shareholder proposals voted on at U.S. companies this year was down by 15%, “as proponents shifted to alternative approaches including private negotiations, legal challenges and withhold campaigns.”
The report further noted that the number of short-selling campaigns increased this year, with the global total up by 32% in the first half.
In Canada, there were nine short campaigns this year, up from just two in the same period last year. Europe also saw a surge in activity, with 15 short campaigns this year, up from just three in 2025. Together, Canada and Europe accounted for most of the global increase.