AGMs are once-a-year corporate extravaganzas: audited financials, director elections, and an open floor for owners' questions. Many boards assume the minutes should capture all of it. Every question, every answer, every heated exchange about the landscaping budget. More detail, more protection.
In practice, the opposite is closer to the truth. Minutes are a permanent record of decisions, not a transcript of conversation. With changes to Ontario's condominium rules arriving on December 31, 2026, and July 1, 2027, owners' meetings are about to get more attention. Here's what's changing, what AGM minutes should actually record, and why the record matters long after the chairs are stacked.
What's Changing, and When
On July 23, 2026, the Condominium Authority of Ontario (CAO) announced changes affecting owners' meetings and the Condominium Authority Tribunal (CAT).¹ They arrive in two stages:
December 31, 2026: Owners requisitioning a meeting must use a new mandatory form. Boards get 20 days to respond instead of five. New rules govern how requisitions are delivered, revised and withdrawn. Board positions reserved for owners of non-leased units come with new eligibility and notice requirements.
July 1, 2027: CAT can hear disputes about whether corporations hold required meetings, including AGMs. It can also hear disputes about whether notices go out on time with the prescribed contents. It can consider reimbursement claims when a corporation fails to call a requisitioned meeting. The maximum damages award rises to $50,000.
Some things CAT still won't hear. These include disputes about what happens during a meeting, such as voting, proxies and ballots. They also include cases that bundle those issues with ones it can now hear.
None of this changes what minutes must contain, and CAT's new jurisdiction doesn't extend to the content of minutes. The connection is broader. Closer oversight of meeting administration is a good reason to make sure your meeting practices, and the records behind them, are sound.
What AGM Minutes Should (and Shouldn't) Record
The CAO's guidance is that minutes should be accurate and capture the essentials: date and location, attendance, motions and votes, and brief summaries of the business conducted.² The test is simple. Could someone who wasn't there understand what happened and what was decided?
For an AGM, that means:
quorum
approval of prior minutes
presentation of the audited financial statements
appointment of the auditor
election results
any other business
Three areas tend to trip people up.
Discussions versus decisions. Owners may spend 20 minutes on a parking concern. If no motion was moved and no vote taken, the minutes shouldn't suggest a decision was made. If a motion carried, say so plainly. A future board needs to tell the difference between an issue raised and a resolution adopted.
Election results. Record who was elected and their terms, as officially announced. The new reserved-position rules will make some elections more complex. Interpreting them isn't the minute taker's job.
The person preparing the minutes is documenting the proceedings, not determining whether the election was conducted correctly.
Owners' questions. There's no prescribed format for recording owners' questions. Our practice is to record the unit number, a short summary of the question, and a concise summary of the response:
Unit 1204: The owner inquired about the anticipated timeline for the garage restoration project. Management advised that work was expected to commence in the spring, subject to contractor availability.
That captures the issue, who raised it, and the substance of the answer. It leaves out tone and personalities.
The occasional AGM can become rather spirited, but the minutes needn't read like a police incident report. "Angrily," "reluctantly" and "defensively" have no place in a corporate record. Neutral language may be boring, but it's safe.
One more trap: a manager saying "we'll look into it" isn't the same as the corporation agreeing to take action. The minutes should reflect what was actually promised, not turn a general response into a formal decision.
Why the Record Outlasts the Meeting
Condominium corporations are required to keep minutes of all meetings indefinitely, and owners are entitled to request copies, subject to limited exceptions.²
That makes AGM minutes part of the corporation's institutional memory. Directors resign. Management companies change. When questions surface years later, the minutes are often the only reliable answer. Who was elected? What were owners told? What was actually approved? Those answers get read by people who weren't in the room.
Years spent working with corporate records have taught us that an old set of minutes can sometimes settle a new argument.
The changes ahead are a good prompt for a quick audit of your own records:
Are motions and outcomes clearly recorded?
Do the minutes separate discussion from decision?
Are owners' questions captured without editorializing?
The Bottom Line
The meeting lasts an evening. The minutes last forever. Write them for the stranger who'll read them in 2035.
— Patricia & Katherine
Planning an AGM? Make the minutes memorable for the right reasons.
Learn more at www.agmminutes.ca.
References:
[1] Condominium Authority of Ontario, "Governance and Tribunal Changes Are Coming to Ontario Condos," July 23, 2026.
[2] Condominium Authority of Ontario, "Meeting Minutes."
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Disclaimer: The information provided on this blog is for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal, financial, or professional corporate governance advice. While we strive to provide accurate information based on the Ontario Condominium Act, legislation and tribunal rulings are subject to change. Condominium boards should always consult with a qualified condominium lawyer, engineer, or Chartered Professional Accountant before making formal legal or financial decisions for their corporation.
