By Robb M. Stewart
Securities regulators in Canada are dropping the need for some companies to report earnings quarterly as part of a multi-year pilot project aimed at improving capital markets in the country, particularly for smaller companies.
The Canadian Securities Administrators, the umbrella body for provincial and territorial securities regulators, said the pilot will allow eligible listed companies to voluntarily adopt semi-annual financial reporting, doing away with reports at the three- and nine-month marks.
The change will offer the exemption from quarterly reporting to certain issuers listed on the TSX Venture Exchange or CNSX Markets and which have, among other criteria, yearly revenue of less than 10 million Canadian dollars, the equivalent of about US$7.3 million.
Nixing quarterly reports for some companies echoes moves underway in the U.S. President Trump in November said companies shouldn't be required to report earnings every three months, an idea he explored during his first term. The Wall Street Journal this week reported the Securities and Exchange Commission was preparing a proposal to eliminate the requirement to report quarterly and instead give companies an option to share results twice a year.
Regulators in Canada say the shift aims to find a better balance between regulatory burden and investor protection for venture companies, which are often startups or emerging businesses.
There were roughly 1,460 companies listed on the TSX Venture or CSE that were under the C$10 million revenue threshold reporting in Ontario as of September, which was just under 90% of all listed venture issuers in the province. More than half were in the mining and materials industry, 12% were in the financial sector, and 7% were in information technology.
In a request last year for comment on its proposal, the Canadian Securities Administrators said scaling back the reporting requirement would lower administrative and related costs for smaller venture companies and allow them to allocate the capital to their operations. Lower reporting costs could also lessen barriers and increase the number of companies opting to list on an exchange, it said.
The CSA said the pilot shouldn't have any affect on the stability of the financial system in Canada. It conceded less frequent financial reporting might affect some companies ability to raise capital or their cost of capital but said the pilot will provide the eligible companies a choice on the frequency of their reporting based on needs and investor expectations.
Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 19, 2026 14:19 ET (18:19 GMT)
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