What to do next
Identify the reasonable expectations at stake
Employment in the business, a board seat, participation in management, dividends, or access to information. Expectations formed at the outset - often informally, between people who trusted each other - are central to an oppression claim.
Document the specific conduct, with dates
Exclusion from meetings or information, dilution of your shareholding, diversion of corporate opportunities, excessive compensation to the controlling party, or termination of your employment. Specific instances carry the claim; general grievance does not.
Assert your statutory information rights now
Shareholders are entitled to defined corporate records and financial statements. Request them in writing. A refusal is itself evidence of oppression, and the records are what a valuation will require.
Check the shareholders agreement before litigating
Shotgun, buy-sell, valuation and deadlock provisions may resolve the matter faster and more cheaply than court. A shotgun clause is powerful and dangerous - never trigger one without advice on the consequences.
Get an independent valuation
Most oppression claims resolve as a buyout. Negotiating without a valuation means negotiating blind, and the valuation method in any agreement may itself be contestable.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a shareholders agreement to have a claim?
No. The oppression remedy is statutory and available without one. With an agreement, its mechanisms usually govern and are faster; without one, the remedy is broader but less predictable.
Can a court force them to buy me out?
A court can order a buyout as an oppression remedy, and that is a common outcome. Whether it will, and at what value, depends on the conduct and the evidence.
I was removed as an employee but still hold shares.
That is a classic oppression fact pattern where employment was part of your reasonable expectations as a shareholder. The employment claim and the oppression claim are distinct and can run together.
Which court hears this?
The superior court of the province - the Cour superieure in Quebec, the Superior Court of Justice in Ontario. Commercial lists exist in some centres for complex corporate matters.
This is general information, not legal advice. Laws vary by location and every situation is different — speak with a qualified lawyer about your specific circumstances.