IR Magazine Awards – Canada
Celebrating IR Excellence
Fairmont Royal York, Toronto
About the event
WHEN
WHERE
Fairmont Royal York, Toronto
About the awards
The IR Magazine Awards – Canada 2024 took place on Thursday, April 4 in Toronto. This very special event honored excellence in the investor relations profession across Canada and we were excited to welcome over 500 attendees for an evening of fine food and lots of celebrating!
Since the annual event first launched in 1996, tens of thousands of analysts and investors have voted in the surveys that fuels the awards. The result: vital benchmarking information on which companies do the best IR. In recent years, the awards program has expanded to recognize more aspects of an IRO’s role as we add new categories to the list and give IR teams the opportunity to nominate themselves.
By popular demand, we presented two types of award categories – researched and nominated – both celebrating the success of those individuals and companies that are leading the way in IR across Canada.
For our researched categories, companies do not submit nominations. Instead, hundreds of analysts and investors cast their votes and give their opinions on which companies provide the best IR service. In our nominated categories, companies submit written entries to articulate their success and achievements from the past year, giving any publicly listed company the opportunity to be considered for an award.
Awards by nomination
For our awards-by-nomination categories, individuals and companies are given the opportunity to submit written entries, free of charge, to be put forward to a panel of expert judges made up of investment professionals and IR Magazine editorial team members.
Winners announced!
View the full list of 2024 nominees and winners by clicking here.
If you have any questions, please contact [email protected] or call +44 20 8004 4989.
Categories
Best ESG reporting (large cap)
Companies face growing demands to inform investors about the risk and opportunities – they face from a range of ESG issues. Describe how your company was able to meet the demands of shareholders looking for substance in ESG reporting?
Market cap breakdown: Micro cap = below C$300 mn / Small cap = between C$300 mn – C$2 bn / Mid-cap = between C$2 bn – C$10 bn / Large cap = C$10 bn and over
Best ESG reporting (mid-cap)
Companies face growing demands to inform investors about the risk and opportunities – they face from a range of ESG issues. Describe how your company was able to meet the demands of shareholders looking for substance in ESG reporting?
Market cap breakdown: Micro cap = below C$300 mn / Small cap = between C$300 mn – C$2 bn / Mid-cap = between C$2 bn – C$10 bn / Large cap = C$10 bn and over
Best ESG reporting (small cap)
Companies face growing demands to inform investors about the risk and opportunities – they face from a range of ESG issues. Describe how your company was able to meet the demands of shareholders looking for substance in ESG reporting?
Market cap breakdown: Micro cap = below C$300 mn / Small cap = between C$300 mn – C$2 bn / Mid-cap = between C$2 bn – C$10 bn / Large cap = C$10 bn and over
Best investor event (large cap)
Did you hold a capital markets day, site visit or other investor event that made your company stand out from the crowd? Tell us how you came up with an original initiative, the way you managed its organization, and how your audience’s expectations were met; audience feedback is also welcome. Both virtual and in-person events can be considered for this award.
Market cap breakdown: Micro cap = below C$300 mn / Small cap = between C$300 mn – C$2 bn / Mid-cap = between C$2 bn – C$10 bn / Large cap = C$10 bn and over
Best investor event (small to mid-cap)
Did you hold a capital markets day, site visit or other investor event that made your company stand out from the crowd? Tell us how you came up with an original initiative, the way you managed its organization, and how your audience’s expectations were met; audience feedback is also welcome. Both virtual and in-person events can be considered for this award.
Market cap breakdown: Micro cap = below C$300 mn / Small cap = between C$300 mn – C$2 bn / Mid-cap = between C$2 bn – C$10 bn / Large cap = C$10 bn and over
Best IR during a corporate transaction
How did your IR team go above and beyond to support a recent corporate transaction? Let us know the details. We’ll be looking at the IR team’s involvement in crafting/releasing the messaging for the financial markets and how it organized outreach and dialogue to gain approval from key shareholders.
Best IR website
The IR website is the first point of contact for an IRO’s audience. We want to hear from companies that have developed a best-in-class website displaying top-notch customer experience, engaging content that meets analysts’ and investors’ needs, and multiplatform access.
Best use of social media and video
Have your IR teams increased visibility and engagement digitally through the use of different communication channels?
Describe the innovative ways you have incorporated video, audio, infographics or webcasts into your IR program. Judges will be looking for evidence of the quality of output, use of creativity and heightened investor and analyst engagement via these channels.
Rising star
This award seeks to honor individuals who bring fresh thinking and a unique approach to the profession. This category is open to anyone who has been working in IR for less than 10 years and has less than 15 years of professional experience.
How the winners are chosen
The awards-by-nomination categories differ from our traditional researched awards, as individuals and companies are given the opportunity to submit written entries to be put forward to a panel of expert judges made up of investment professionals and IR Magazine editorial team members.
The judging process consists of three simple phases:
Phase one:
Once the entry deadline has passed, the IR Magazine editorial team reviews all submissions and produces the shortlist
Phase two:
The shortlisted entries are shared with an independent judging panel made up of industry experts. The judges review each shortlisted entry and select their top two picks per category
The IR Magazine awards team receives the results and contacts all shortlisted companies to give them the good news. The shortlists are then published to the entire IR community a month before the event.
Phase three:
The judges come together to discuss, debate and select the final list of winners who will go on to win an award
The judges’ votes are not made public, but their comments may be published in articles or reports after the event. Judges are not required to make comments against every submission.
Meet the judges
We are delighted to announce our judging panel for the 2024 awards! Click on each photo below to find out more.
Awards by research
Our awards-by-research nominees are determined by the input of hundreds of analysts and portfolio managers, who give their opinions on which companies provide them with the best IR service in Canada. Every year we invite any publicly listed company to submit their list of buy and sell-side analysts and portfolio managers, so that they have the opportunity to vote via our survey.
Winners announced!
View the full list of 2024 nominees and winners by clicking here.
If you have any questions on this process or wish to access our data sharing agreement, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page. For any further queries about the research process, please contact [email protected].
Categories
Best overall investor relations (large cap)
This category covers companies that have most impressed the investment community with their overall IR program. Market cap breakdown: Micro cap = below C$300 mn / Small cap = between C$300 mn – C$2 bn / Mid-cap = between C$2 bn – C$10 bn / Large cap = C$10 bn and over
Best overall investor relations (mid-cap)
This category covers companies that have most impressed the investment community with their overall IR program. Market cap breakdown: Micro cap = below C$300 mn / Small cap = between C$300 mn – C$2 bn / Mid-cap = between C$2 bn – C$10 bn / Large cap = C$10 bn and over
Best overall investor relations (small cap)
This category covers companies that have most impressed the investment community with their overall IR program. Market cap breakdown: Micro cap = below C$300 mn / Small cap = between C$300 mn – C$2 bn / Mid-cap = between C$2 bn – C$10 bn / Large cap = C$10 bn and over
Best investor relations officer (large cap)
This category is for individual IROs whose knowledge of their company and sector and whose ability to build relationships with members of the investment community and to be transparent, accessible and responsive, sets them apart. Market cap breakdown: Micro cap = below C$300 mn / Small cap = between C$300 mn – C$2 bn / Mid-cap = between C$2 bn – C$10 bn / Large cap = C$10 bn and over
Best investor relations officer (mid-cap)
This category is for individual IROs whose knowledge of their company and sector and whose ability to build relationships with members of the investment community and to be transparent, accessible and responsive, sets them apart. Market cap breakdown: Micro cap = below C$300 mn / Small cap = between C$300 mn – C$2 bn / Mid-cap = between C$2 bn – C$10 bn / Large cap = C$10 bn and over
Best investor relations officer (small cap)
This category is for individual IROs whose knowledge of their company and sector and whose ability to build relationships with members of the investment community and to be transparent, accessible and responsive, sets them apart. Market cap breakdown: Micro cap = below C$300 mn / Small cap = between C$300 mn – C$2 bn / Mid-cap = between C$2 bn – C$10 bn / Large cap = C$10 bn and over
Best IR by a senior management team (large cap)
Market cap breakdown: Micro cap = below C$300 mn / Small cap = between C$300 mn – C$2 bn / Mid-cap = between C$2 bn – C$10 bn / Large cap = C$10 bn and over
Best IR by a senior management team (mid-cap)
Best IR by a senior management team (small cap)
Market cap breakdown: Micro cap = below C$300 mn / Small cap = between C$300 mn – C$2 bn / Mid-cap = between C$2 bn – C$10 bn / Large cap = C$10 bn and over
Best IR by a Canadian company in the US market
Best in sector: communications
Best in sector: consumer discretionary
Best in sector: consumer staples
Best in sector: energy
Best in sector: financials
Best in sector: healthcare
Best in sector: industrials
Best in sector: materials
Best in sector: real estate
Best in sector: technology
Best in sector: utilities
How the winners are chosen
The first thing to explain is that our awards are different from most others: for our awards by research, companies do not submit nominations. The winners are identified by in-depth research and any publicly traded company is eligible to be considered. This survey is the only one of its kind to go directly to the investment community, via a combination of an electronic survey and one-to-one telephone interviews, canvassing the opinions of the people who matter to you most.
July 2023: Sample selection
IR Magazine has been building investment community databases for more than 30 years. As part of the updating process, listed companies are contacted every year for details of the professionals who currently cover their stock. These details are combined with IHS Markit’s list of US investment community contacts to produce a total of around 50,000 investors and analysts.
September – November 2023: Telephone survey
The telephone survey then gets under way. The researchers conduct in-depth interviews with an additional 250 portfolio managers and analysts across the US and Canada. Many of them participate in the study year after year, but there is always a healthy proportion of new respondents each year as well. As the research progresses, the sample is adjusted to ensure appropriate weightings are maintained.
October 2023: Electronic survey
IR Magazine then conducts an electronic survey of buy-side and sell-side analysts and portfolio managers. The electronic survey typically receives 200 individual responses from the investment community. These responses then go to Mary Maude Research for initial analysis. The research firm determines what will constitute a representative sample, weighted for industry sector.
Results analysis
Once the survey stage of the research is completed, the final analysis is undertaken. The companies with the highest scores make the short lists for the awards categories, and the points are further analyzed to identify the best exponents of IR by sector. The independence of our research is crucial to the integrity of the whole awards program, so IR Magazine sees the results only once the research is complete. This ensures a transparent, independent set of results that IROs can trust as a valuable bench-marking tool.
January 2024: Shortlist compiled
IR Magazine receives the results in January and contacts the shortlisted companies to give them the good news. The short list is then published to the entire IR community the month before the event.
April 4, 2024: Winners announced
And finally… the winners are announced live at the black tie awards gala on Thursday, April 4, 2024!
April 2024: Report published
Shortly after the awards, the IR Rankings 2024 report is published and made available to IR Magazine subscribers. This report will profile the top ranked companies and reveal information on how they conduct their IR activities and why investors voted for them.
For more information around the investor survey, please contact [email protected].
Hall of Fame
Past winners of our coveted IR Impact Awards are invited to be inducted into the IR Impact Hall of Fame. This is an exclusive alum organization reserved only for individual winners of our awards including the categories – Best IR Professional across all cap sizes.
We wanted to provide a platform that offers ongoing recognition for this monumental achievement and an opportunity for our award winners to help shape the future of excellence in the IR community.
What our attendees say
Attendees
Attendees at this event are leading IR practitioners from across Canada. Each participant is someone with an established track record and a strategic IR role within his or her company.
Below is a list of some of our attendees:
| JOB TITLE | COMPANY |
|---|---|
| AVP, IR | Canadian Tire |
| CEO | Northland Power |
| CFO | Black Diamond Group |
| Chief executive officer | Element Fleet Management |
| Director | Loblaw |
| Director, IR | Aecon |
| Director, IR | CGI |
| Director, IR | Element Fleet Management |
| Director, IR | Shopify |
| Director, IR | E3 Lithium |
| EVP & general counsel | Element Fleet Management |
| Head, IR | Cronos Group |
| Head of IR | Canadian Tire |
| IR | Shopify |
| IR specialist | Cenovus Energy |
| Manager, IR | Crescent Point |
| Manager, IR | Element Fleet Management |
| Manager, IR | Telus |
| JOB TITLE | COMPANY |
|---|---|
| Manager, sustainability | TransAlta Corporation |
| Senior advisor, IR | TransAlta Corporation |
| Senior director | Loblaw |
| Senior VP, IR | Cenovus Energy |
| Senior VP, IR | CGI |
| SVP | Loblaw |
| VP | Loblaw |
| VP | Loblaw |
| VP, capital markets | Black Diamond Group |
| VP, capital markets & risk | Gibson Energy |
| VP, ESG | Element Fleet Management |
| VP, financial planning and analysis | Northland Power |
| VP, FP&A | Cronos Group |
| VP, IR | Element Fleet Management |
| VP, IR & ESG strategy | EQB |
| VP, strategic finance & IR | TransAlta Corporation |
| VP, strategy | Gibson Energy |
Thinking of becoming an event partner?
Our events provide a unique opportunity to get in front of some of the most influential people in the IR community. As a partner, you will gain an extensive amount of exposure through a wide range of print and digital marketing materials, both pre and post event, as well as on the day itself. Additionally, you can use the event to align yourself with IR excellence and network with key decision makers from across the region – the ones pushing the profession forward through innovation.
Partners
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CORPORATE PARTNERS
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Register your interest for 2025
Gallery
Highlights
View the highlights from the 2024 awards ceremony
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Privacy policy
IR Media Group (USA) Inc, the owner of IR Magazine, Governance Intelligence and IR Community, respect the privacy of every person who visits, registers with or subscribes to our websites and online publications, and is committed to ensuring a safe online experience. This privacy statement applies to all IR Media Group’s websites as listed under the heading ‘Sites’ and outlines the information IR Media Group may collect and how we may use that information. It also explains what we do with information about you when you register to attend one of our events.
To view our privacy policy in full, please click here.
Upcoming events
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