West Horizon Contracting Inc., a Smithers, British Columbia-based civil construction company specializing in bridge and road maintenance and construction, was placed into receivership on September 18, 2026, following an application by Royal Bank of Canada tied to an unresolved liquidity crisis.
The company, formerly known as Burnett McCreery Ventures Inc. and operating under its current name since March 14, 2017, had been financed under an amended and restated credit agreement dated May 8, 2025. That agreement included a $3 million revolving demand facility, a $500,000 revolving term facility and a $200,000 credit card facility. RBC alleged West Horizon owed approximately $3.9 million as of June 12, 2026, once interest, costs and expenses were included, with the debt secured by a general security agreement and guarantees from directors and related parties.
Forbearance Deal Breaks Down
RBC issued demand letters and notices of intention to enforce security on May 7, 2026, after the company defaulted under its credit agreement. Days later, on May 11, the bank agreed to a forbearance arrangement that temporarily raised West Horizon’s permitted borrowing limit by $500,000 until June 26, in exchange for additional guarantees and security.
The arrangement did not hold. On June 2, West Horizon exceeded its approved borrowing limit by about $204,000 after making payroll payments. RBC demanded the company bring its borrowing back within the limit the next day; the company said it would cover the excess by June 4, but instead the shortfall grew to roughly $245,000 over the limit.
RBC then restricted further payroll payments to available account balances and rejected approximately $220,000 in cheques and other payments between June 2 and June 12. The bank said the bounced payments and West Horizon’s inability to pay employees and other parties raised serious concerns about its liquidity and ongoing viability.
Refinancing Fell Through
West Horizon had been attempting to arrange replacement financing through National Bank of Canada. On May 21, the company’s counsel told RBC that a refinancing was underway and expected to repay the bank in full, and on June 1 indicated written confirmation was anticipated that week. RBC said it never received confirmation of the refinancing before filing its receivership petition on June 24.
RBC argued that West Horizon’s management had lost the ability to run the business in a commercially reasonable manner and that receivership was needed to preserve its assets, warning that further delay would reduce potential recoveries.
Creditor Claims Top $10 Million
The receiver’s statutory notice, issued September 24, lists approximately $10.7 million in estimated creditor claims, split between about $4.7 million in secured claims and $6 million in unsecured claims. Secured creditors include RBC, owed approximately $4 million, and the Canada Revenue Agency, owed approximately $700,000, with amounts owing to several other secured creditors still undetermined. Among unsecured creditors, Always Angus Farm, Quality Excavating & Construction, Rapid-Span Precast Limited Partnership and Terus Construction Ltd. are each listed as being owed more than $500,000.
BDO has been appointed receiver. MLT Aikins is acting as counsel for RBC, while Pihl Law is representing West Horizon.
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