Fairmont Royal York, Toronto
The IR Magazine Awards – Canada 2025 will take place on Thursday, April 3 in Toronto. This very special event honors excellence in the investor relations profession across Canada.
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.
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.
We are now accepting entries for 2025! Please click here to access the entry form. The deadline for submissions is midnight (ET) on Friday, January 3, 2025.
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.
The awards-by-nomination categories differ from our traditional researched awards, as 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.
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 short list
Phase two: The short-listed entries are shared with an independent judging panel made up of industry experts. The judges review each short-listed entry and select their top two picks per category
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.
We are delighted to announce our judging panel for the 2025 awards! Click on each photo below to find out more.
Laurie Havelock
Editor
IR Magazine
Laurie Havelock is a journalist, writer and podcaster who has worked with IR Magazine for more than a decade. He was previously assistant business editor at the Daily Telegraph and acting business and money editor at the i newspaper. In his spare time, he is a keen boardgamer and hosts a podcast about them called Idle Fantasy. He lives in London with his husky, Mischa.
Isabelle Adjahi
Vice president, communications
CDPQ
Isabelle Adjahi is Vice-President, Communications. She is responsible for delivering the Communications team strategy and for promoting the role, expertise and impact of CDPQ in Québec and around the world. She is also responsible for internal, external and institutional communications, as well as relations with the media and various stakeholders.
Ms. Adjahi boasts more than 25 years’ experience in communications in organizations and in investor relations. Prior to joining CDPQ in 2024, she served as Vice-President, Investor Relations and Sustainable Development at Lion Electric, where she played a key role in the company’s initial public offering. She also oversaw the implementation of Lion Electric’s sustainable development strategy. She previously held various management positions at WSP and Axcan Pharma.
Ms. Adjahi holds a Bachelor’s in Foreign Languages and Literature from Université de Lyon II. She also studied securities, communications and finance. In addition, she sits on the Board of Directors of Collège de Montréal, and on the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce of Montreal Metropolitan (CCMM). Recognized by all of her peers, Ms. Adjahi has received numerous investor relations awards, including many at the national level.
Brian Christie
Former vice president, investor relations
Agnico Eagle Mines
Mr. Christie served as the Vice President of Investor Relations at Agnico Eagle Mines from December 2012 until his retirement in July 2022. During his tenure at Agnico Eagle, the company was consistently recognized as having one of the top Investor Relations programs across all industries in Canada. Mr. Christie is currently retained by Agnico Eagle as a Senior Advisor, Investor Relations.
Before joining Agnico Eagle, he worked for over 17 years in the investment industry, primarily as a precious and base metals mining analyst with Desjardins Securities, National Bank Financial, Canaccord Capital and HSBC Securities. Prior to this, Mr. Christie spent 13 years in the mining industry as a geologist for a variety of mining companies, including Homestake, Billiton, Falconbridge Copper and Newmont Mining.
From 2016 until 2021 he served as an Independent Director (including 2 years as Board Chair and Compensation Committee Chair) of the Denver Gold Group, a Colorado based not-for-profit association owned by its member gold companies who control most of the world’s precious metal output and mineral assets.
Mr. Christie holds a BSc. in Geology (University of Toronto) and an MSc. in Geology (Queen’s University) and is a member of the Canadian Investor Relations Institute (CIRI) and the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI). He currently serves as the Chair and an Independent Director of Fury Gold Mines Limited and as an Independent Director of Wallbridge Mining Company Limited, and Forum Energy Metals Corp.
Janet Craig
VP, investor relations
Maple Leaf Foods
Globally Recognized and Ranked Investor Relations and Communications Change Agent
Holder of over 25 #1 awards in investor relations, including being named one of the “Top 25 IROs of all time” in 2012, and named one of “30 IR Stars in Three Decades” in 2018 – both global rankings by Investor Relations Magazine, as well as being awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020. I have advised on some of the largest corporate transactions and events in Canada over the past decade.
Colleen Johnston
Former CFO
TD Bank
Colleen currently serves on the boards of Shopify, McCain Foods and Private Debt Partners. She previously served as the Chair of Unity Health Toronto, Bridgepoint Health and the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Ontario.
Colleen Johnston retired from TD Bank Group in 2018. Prior to this, she was the Group Head Direct Channels, Technology, Marketing and Corporate & Public Affairs, TD Bank Group. Colleen served as TD’s Chief Financial Officer from 2005-2015. Prior to joining TD in 2004, Colleen spent 15 years with Scotiabank in various senior finance positions. Colleen started her career at PwC in 1982. She received her CA designation in 1984 and in 2006 was elected an FCA (FCPA) recognizing her outstanding career achievements and dedication to community activities.
At TD, she was actively involved in promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace as Chair of the Women in Leadership Committee for ten years. In 2013, Colleen was awarded the Catalyst Canada Honours in the Business Leader Category. Colleen has received numerous top industry honours as a senior finance executive including Canada’s CFO of the Year in 2012. She was recognized by Women’s Executive Network as one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women three years in a row and inducted into Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2011, for the third year in a row, she was named one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking by American Banker. Colleen has received Honorary Degrees from St. Mary’s University and York University (Schulich School of Business).
Past winners of our coveted IR Magazine Awards are invited to be inducted into the IR Magazine 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 and Lifetime Achievement award winners.
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.
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.
View the full list of 2024 nominees and winners 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].
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 2024: 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 2024: 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 2024: 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 2025: Short list compiled
IR Magazine receives the results in January and contacts the short-listed companies to give them the good news. The short list is then published to the entire IR community the month before the event.
April 3, 2025: Winners announced
And finally… the winners are announced live at the black tie awards gala on Thursday, April 3, 2025!
April 2025: Report published
Shortly after the awards, the IR Rankings 2025 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.
The IR Rankings – Canada Top 50 report is the ultimate benchmarking resource for any IRO looking to improve their IR program. It provides detailed analysis and statistics on the working practices of the awards-by-research winners, selected through an independent survey of investors and analysts.
The report offers:
This report will be released on April 4, 2025. after the awards ceremony. Please note, an IR Magazine subscription is required to access the report.
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 sample of some of our past attendees:
Job title | Company | Job title | Company | |
AVP, IR | Canadian Tire | Manager, sustainability | TransAlta Corporation | |
CEO | Northland Power | Senior advisor, IR | TransAlta Corporation | |
CFO | Black Diamond Group | Senior director | Loblaw | |
Chief executive officer | Element Fleet Management | Senior VP, IR | Cenovus Energy | |
Director | Loblaw | Senior VP, IR | CGI | |
Director, IR | Aecon | SVP | Loblaw | |
Director, IR | CGI | VP | Loblaw | |
Director, IR | Element Fleet Management | VP | Loblaw | |
Director, IR | Shopify | VP, capital markets | Black Diamond Group | |
Director, IR | E3 Lithium | VP, capital markets & risk | Gibson Energy | |
EVP & general counsel | Element Fleet Management | VP, ESG | Element Fleet Management | |
Head, IR | Cronos Group | VP, financial planning and analysis | Northland Power | |
Head of IR | Canadian Tire | VP, FP&A | Cronos Group | |
IR | Shopify | VP, IR | Element Fleet Management | |
IR specialist | Cenovus Energy | VP, IR & ESG strategy | EQB | |
Manager, IR | Crescent Point | VP, strategic finance & IR | TransAlta Corporation | |
Manager, IR | Element Fleet Management | VP, strategy | Gibson Energy | |
Manager, IR | Telus |
Why partner with us?
Our awards provide a unique opportunity to get in front of some of the most influential people in the Canadian 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.
Partnering with the event will provide:
All our partnerships are created using a mix of branding, thought leadership, lead generation and meetings with your target audience. You tell us your objectives and we will work with you to create you a package that’s makes sense for your company and will help you achieve those objectives. To find out more get in touch with Ian Richman or call on +1 212 430 6865.
Awards Partners
TMX Group operates global markets, and builds digital communities and analytic solutions that facilitate the funding, growth and success of businesses, traders and investors. TMX Group’s key operations include Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange, TSX Alpha Exchange, The Canadian Depository for Securities, Montréal Exchange, Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation, and Trayport which provide listing markets, trading markets, clearing facilities, depository services, technology solutions, data products and other services to the global financial community. TMX Group is headquartered in Toronto and operates offices across North America (Montréal, Calgary, Vancouver and New York), as well as in key international markets including London and Singapore. For more information about TMX Group, visit our website at www.tmx.com. Follow TMX Group on Twitter: @TMXGroup.
Corporate Partners
Agnico Eagle is a senior Canadian gold mining company that has produced precious metals since 1957. Its operating mines are located in Canada, Finland and Mexico, with exploration activities in each of these countries as well as in the United States and Colombia. The Company and its shareholders have full exposure to gold prices due to its long-standing policy of no forward gold sales. Agnico Eagle has declared a cash dividend every year since 1983.
For more information, please visit www.agnicoeagle.com
All times displayed are in Eastern Time (ET)
Please note: timings are subject to change
We are pleased to hosting our awards at:
Fairmont Royal York
100 Front St W,
Toronto, ON
M5J 1E3
Canada
For transport options and directions to the venue, please click here.
Accommodation:
IR Magazine has arranged preferential rates for attendees at nearby hotels. View the hotels and rates by clicking here.
Hotel rooms at the Fairmont Royal York is available from C$549+HST. Please email [email protected] for more information.
Dress code
Black tie
Warning: Please note the event may contain flashing lights or sudden loud sound effects.
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For partnership inquiries
+1 212 430 6865
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+44 20 8004 4989
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+44 208 090 2156