Public disclosure of identity of directors, officers and shareholders
Canada
Corporate subsidiary (Corporation form rather than flow-through form)
Identity of directors is publicly disclosed; certain jurisdictions require disclosure of officers; identity of shareholders of private, non-listed companies is not publicly disclosed in most jurisdictions. In Alberta, the voting shareholders must be disclosed to the Alberta corporate registrar and on the annual returns filed by the corporation each year. In Quebec, the three shareholders holding most voting shares must be disclosed to the Quebec corporate registrar and will be disclosed on the public corporate register.
A private company incorporated under federal, British Columbia and Ontario corporate law must maintain a register of individuals with significant control over the company. The criteria for determining who is a significant individual vary by jurisdiction and are nuanced, but a common theme is evaluating ownership percentage (25 percent or more, either by number or outstanding shares measured by fair market value, depending on jurisdiction) and voting rights (25 percent or more). The transparency registers are not publicly disclosed but must be maintained in the company’s record books and are accessible by certain designated individuals. Effective March 2023, Quebec will impose similar transparency requirements, but the transparency register information will be publicly accessible.