What happens if a minority shareholder wants to sell but nobody else in the company wants to?

A minority shareholder generally can't force the company or the other shareholders to buy them out, or force a sale of the whole business, just because they'd like to exit. Absent a specific mechanism in a shareholders' agreement, such as a shotgun clause, a right to trigger a valuation and buyout process, or a tag-along right tied to some other transaction, an unwilling minority shareholder is often left holding shares in a company that isn't being sold.

Selling their shares to an outside third party is sometimes technically possible, but is frequently restricted or made impractical by transfer restrictions in the shareholders' agreement and by the reality that an outside buyer usually has little interest in a minority stake they can't control. In genuinely serious situations, where the shareholder can show the majority's conduct is oppressive or unfairly disregards their interests, Ontario's oppression remedy under the Business Corporations Act can potentially provide a path to a court-ordered buyout, but this is a significant, fact-specific step, not a routine exit option.