Can a minority shareholder bring an oppression claim over being excluded from company decisions?

Potentially, yes — being excluded from meaningful participation in company decisions is one of the recognized patterns that can support an oppression claim under the OBCA, but success depends on the specific facts, not just the fact of exclusion itself. Courts look at whether the shareholder had a reasonable expectation of being consulted or informed, based on things like their role in founding or growing the company, any shareholders' agreement provisions about information rights, past practice in how the company was run, and whether the shareholder held a meaningful ownership stake rather than a token one.

A shareholder who bought a small, passive minority stake with no agreement promising involvement may have a harder time establishing that exclusion breached a reasonable expectation, compared to a founding shareholder who was actively involved for years before suddenly being frozen out. Courts also consider whether the exclusion was paired with other conduct, such as being denied financial information or seeing decisions made specifically to disadvantage them, since a pattern of conduct is often more persuasive than a single incident. Documenting what involvement existed before, and what changed, is an important first step before deciding whether to pursue a claim.