Canada's governance leaders

For the 14th year in a row, Report on Business has rated Canada's corporate boards using a rigorous set of governance criteria designed to go far beyond minimum mandatory rules imposed by regulators.

Sun Life Financial Inc. finished at the top of the rankings in 2015 for the third time in the past four years with a score of 99 out of 100, losing just one mark on a new question added to the survey this year that assesses whether companies provide a "look back" table in the proxy circular summarizing how much the CEO has actually reaped in compensation over the past five years, including payout values for long-term compensation elements like share units and stock options.

Three companies tied for second place – Bank of Montreal, Bank of Nova Scotia and Emera Inc. – all with scores of 98.

The evaluation looks at over 50 different corporate governance practices in four broad subcategories related to board composition, compensation, shareholder rights and disclosure. Because Board Games is designed to reflect current best practices in governance, the marking criteria sometimes change, which means marks from prior years are not directly comparable. Scores for 2014 are included to offer a sense of how companies' scores are evolving.

The marks are based on information published in the most recent annual shareholder proxy circulars of companies that comprised the S&P/TSX composite index as of Sept. 1. Four companies in the composite index as of Sept. 1 were not marked because they had not filed new proxy circulars following a spin-off or merger or because they did not provide sufficient information to complete the marking. The analysis is done by the Clarkson Centre for Board Effectiveness at the University of Toronto.

Globe Unlimited subscribers can click here to see a comprehensive table of the best and worst governed companies in Canada with all the scores for every question. Additional tables on company and director diversity and a full report card are available for purchase.

Editor's note:

An earlier version of this chart included an incorrect ranking for Air Canada, showing a total score of 80 out of 100. In fact, Air Canada received a mark of 82 out of 100, tying for 66th place in the ranking.

An earlier version of this chart also included an incorrect ranking for Precision Drilling Corp., showing a total score of 90 out of 100. In fact, Precision Drilling received a mark of 92 out of 100, tying for 20th place in the ranking.

An earlier version of this chart also included an incorrect ranking for New Gold Inc., showing a total score of 81 out of 100. In fact, New Gold received a mark of 82 out of 100, tying for 66th place in the ranking.

An earlier version of this chart also included an incorrect ranking for NovaGold Resources Inc., showing a total score of 63 out of 100. In fact, NovaGold received a mark of 65 out of 100, tying for 160th place in the ranking.

An earlier version of this chart also included an incorrect ranking for Suncor Energy Inc., showing a total score of 95 out of 100. In fact, Suncor received a mark of 96 out of 100, tying for 11th place in the ranking.

An earlier version of this chart also included an incorrect ranking for Allied Properties REIT., showing a total score of 79 out of 100. In fact, Suncor received a mark of 80 out of 100, tying for 75th place in the ranking.

Globe Unlimited subscribers can click here to see a comprehensive table of the best and worst governed companies in Canada with all the scores for every question. Additional tables on company and director diversity and a full report card are available for purchase.