A large share of investors in Canada’s biggest cannabis companies opposed executive compensation packages in say-on-pay votes last year, or withheld support for directors responsible for compensation decisions. (The Globe and Mail)

Talking point: The opposition follows recommendations from proxy advisers Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis, which flagged high CEO pay at cannabis companies—including Canopy Growth, Tilray and Aurora—as unjustified given their weak stock performance. Tilray CEO Irwin Simon was the industry’s top earner, with US$10.14 million in fiscal 2024. While that was down from US$15.66 million in 2023, ISS said Tilray—whose stock has traded below US$2 for most of last year—had “unmitigated pay-for-performance misalignment.” Shareholders of the company withheld 39.4 per cent of their votes for director David Hopkinson and 35.8 per cent for director Thomas Looney, both of whom sit on Tilray’s compensation committee.