What is the oppression remedy and can a minority shareholder use it against the majority in Ontario?

The oppression remedy, found in Ontario's Business Corporations Act, lets a court intervene when a corporation's conduct, or the conduct of those controlling it, is oppressive, unfairly prejudicial to, or unfairly disregards the interests of a shareholder. It's one of the most powerful tools available to a minority shareholder because it doesn't require proving a specific technical breach of the corporation's constating documents - it asks a broader, fairness-based question about whether you've been treated unjustly given what you reasonably expected as a shareholder.

Common scenarios include being frozen out of management or dividends, having your shares diluted through a share issuance designed to reduce your influence, being denied access to financial information, or having the majority run the business for their own benefit at your expense. Courts have broad remedial powers when oppression is found, including ordering a share buyout, reversing a transaction, or restructuring how the corporation is run. Because the remedy turns heavily on your specific reasonable expectations as a shareholder, evidence of what was actually promised or understood when you became involved - verbally or in writing - matters enormously.