Note regarding presentation Our shares are listed for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). We are classified as a foreign private issuer pursuant to applicable U.S. securities laws and are therefore exempt from the proxy rules under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act). This document is prepared in compliance with applicable Canadian securities laws and regulations. Additionally, as a foreign private issuer, we are permitted to follow home country practice instead of certain governance requirements set out in the NYSE rules, provided that we disclose any significant differences between our governance practices and those required by NYSE rules on our website at investor.cpr.ca/governance. Non-GAAP measures This proxy circular includes certain measures that do not have a standardized meaning and are not defined by generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in the United States and, therefore, may not be comparable to similar measures used by other companies. These non-GAAP measures include adjusted operating income, adjusted operating ratio, adjusted diluted earnings per share (adjusted diluted EPS), adjusted return on invested capital (adjusted ROIC), free cash, and adjusted net debt to adjusted EBITDA included in the compensation discussion and analysis beginning on page 34. You can find more information about non-GAAP measures and the definitions of these measures on page 110. Forward-looking information This proxy circular contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively, “forward-looking information”) within the meaning of applicable securities laws relating to our compensation programs, operations, anticipated financial performance, business prospects, planned capital expenditures and strategies, and board and committee composition and roles, among other things. This forward-looking information also includes, but is not limited to, statements about our expectations, beliefs, plans, goals, objectives, assumptions, information and statements about possible future events, conditions and results of operations or performance. Forward-looking information may contain statements with words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “expect”, “plan” or similar words suggesting future outcomes. Forward-looking information is based on current assumptions about our business and our strategy as well as economic, political, regulatory, market and environmental conditions affecting them. Although we believe the assumptions reflected in the forward-looking information presented in this proxy circular are reasonable as of the date hereof, there can be no assurance that they may prove to be correct. You should not put undue reliance on forward-looking information, as it is not a guarantee of future performance. Forward-looking information involves many inherent risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information. This includes risks such as: changes in business strategies, general North American and global economic, credit and business conditions, changes in the availability and price of commodities, the effects of competition, industry capacity, shifts in demand, changes in laws and regulations, cost increases, claims and litigation, labour disputes, liabilities arising from derailments and the pandemic created by the outbreak of the novel strain of coronavirus (and the disease known as COVID-19) and its variants, among other things. The foregoing list of risks is not exhaustive. These and other factors are detailed from time to time in reports we file with securities regulators in Canada and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States. You should refer to Item 1A – Risk Factors and Item 7 – Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and Forward- Looking Information in our 2021 annual report on Form 10-K and to our risk factor and forward-looking information disclosure in our annual and interim reports filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and EDGAR (www.sec.gov). Forward-looking information is based on our current expectations, estimates and projections and it is possible we will not achieve these predictions, forecasts, projections and other forms of forward-looking information. We do not publicly update or otherwise revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless we are required to by applicable law. |