Girl Guides of Canada

The Annual General Meeting is a business meeting that must be held each year, not longer than 13 months after the previous AGM. AGMs are standard practice for both for profit organizations (such as a shareholder company) as well as non-profit organizations like GGC.

The purpose of an AGM is to fulfill specific legal requirements as a non-profit organization, and to ensure organizational accountability. As outlined in GGC’s bylaws, the following business must happen at the AGM:

1. The receipt of the annual report of GGC
2. The receipt of the audited financial statements of GGC
3. The appointment of auditors
4. The election of Board Directors (as applicable)
5. Any other matter specified in the notice of convening the meeting

Due to the change in GGC’s fiscal year to align with the Guiding year (rather than calendar year), for 2025, a Special General Meeting was called in February 2025 to approve the financial statements and appoint the auditor. The 2025 AGM will be slightly shortened and consist of the receipt of the annual report of GGC, election of Board Directors, and any other matter specified in the notice of convening the meeting.

Any member of GGC may attend the AGM as an observer.

Those entitled to vote at the AGM and SGM are members of the Board of Directors, the Provincial Commissioners, and members of the National Youth Council who are present.

Those entitled to vote will be sent an electronic ballot to cast their vote on each motion presented at the meeting. GGC will use the voting platform Simply Voting to conduct the election pieces with professional voting support provided by Data on the Spot. While general members will not see the ballot(s), the results, as authenticated by the voting platform, will be announced immediately following the vote. There may be pauses during the meeting as the voting members cast their ballot.

There are several reasons as to why the AGM has moved to a virtual format. Primarily, this format allows increased accessibility of general membership to attend the AGM. Members who were not near the city in which the AGM was hosted were likely not able to attend, and those who lived in remote or rural communities may not have a chance to attend an AGM in-person. This format also significantly reduces the costs associated with running an AGM in-person, which means that the organization has more money for girl and youth activities.

The AGM will be held in a virtual format using the platform Zoom. It will be hosted webinar-style, which means only presenters will be visible. Non-presenters will be able to use the chat function and Q&A function, but will not be visible or able to speak. This is standard practice for very large meetings to ensure smooth operations.

The primary purpose of both the AGM is a business meeting. This includes fulfilling financial and governance requirements. There may be pauses during the meeting as the voting membership completes and submits their electronic ballots to vote on motions.

At the AGM, we also hope to engage members and recognize the outstanding work of GGC’s senior volunteers.

The AGM will be emceed by members of the National Youth Council. The Chair of the Board will also make some remarks and introduce certain agenda items, as well as the Annual Report. The election of new Board Directors will be led by the Director-Governance. Other Directors will lead the recognition of outgoing Board Directors, PCs, and National Youth Council members.

A recording of the meetings will be available upon request. Please inquire with executiveoffice@girlguides.ca for more information.

The annual report and audited financial statements are available on Girl Guides of Canada’s website.

Yes. A survey will be sent out after the meeting to collect feedback. You will remain anonymous when you submit the survey.