Canadian Insolvency Awards - Announcing the 2026 Finalists

Announcing the 2026 Finalists

We are pleased to announce the finalists for the 2026 Canadian Insolvency Awards.

This year’s shortlist reflects the depth, complexity, and creativity of restructuring and insolvency work across Canada. The files below were selected by our independent judging panel based on execution, outcomes, and broader impact, with a clear focus on cases and team efforts rather than individual recognition.

Below, you will find the finalists by category, with a brief overview of each matter and the professionals involved.

Overall winners in each category will be announced live at the Canadian Insolvency Awards Gala on February 5, 2026.

Congratulations to all and we look forward to celebrating with you on February 5!

Restructuring of the Year

Honours a landmark Canadian restructuring of a company that delivered exceptional stakeholder outcomes.

FINALISTS:

Ashcroft Homes Group
A highly complex real estate insolvency involving seniors’ residences, student housing, and hospitality assets, following the termination of an initial CCAA proceeding and the appointment of a receiver across more than 55 entities. Through operational stabilization, parallel sale and refinancing processes, and coordinated stakeholder management, the restructuring delivered full repayment to several secured lenders who otherwise faced material shortfalls.

KSV was the receiver. Counsel was Norton Rose Fulbright and Blaney McMurtry for the receiver and Mann Lawyers for the debtor. Key lender counsel was Bennett Jones for Peoples Trust, Cassels for ACM Advisors, Lenczner Slaught for IMC, Aird & Berlis for CMLS and Equitable Bank and Garfinkle Biderman for Cameron Stephens. Other key counsel was Davies for the refinancing lender, Goodmans for the Envie I purchaser and Stieber Berlach and Conway Baxter Wilson for the insurance litigation.

The Body Shop Canada
A cross-border retail restructuring triggered by the collapse of the company’s UK parent and the sudden loss of supply and liquidity. Through a staged NOI to CCAA process, court-supervised store rationalization, and a novel head-franchise exit structure, the proceeding preserved the Canadian business, safeguarded more than 500 jobs, and stabilized a national retail footprint.

Alvarez & Marsal was the monitor. Counsel was Davies for the debtor, Cassels for monitor and Fasken for the Canadian purchaser.

Canadian Tobacco Industry CCAA Proceedings
One of the most consequential restructurings in Canadian history, resolving nearly $1 trillion in asserted claims through coordinated CCAA plans implemented after six years of mediation and litigation. The proceedings culminated in a $32.5 billion global settlement addressing decades of public health claims while preserving ongoing operations and providing long-term compensation frameworks.

Monitors were EY for Rothmans, Benson & Hedges (Rothmans), Deloitte for JTI-Macdonald (JTI) and FTI for Imperial Tobacco (Imperial).

Counsel was McCarthy Tétrault for Rothmans, TGF for JTI and Osler for Imperial.

Counsel for the monitors was Cassels for EY, Blakes for Deloitte and Davies for FTI.

PwC was also appointed as Receiver of JTI-Macdonald TM Corp., with Torys acting as receiver’s counsel.

Representative and claimant counsel included Wagners as representative counsel for the pan-Canadian claimants, Klein Lawyers for the representative plaintiff in the British Columbia class action, Fishman Flanz and Chaitons for the Quebec class action plaintiffs, and SWS Litigation for the Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers’ Marketing Board.

Counsel to other key stakeholders included Bennett Jones for various provinces and territories, McMillan for Québec, Gowling WLG for Philip Morris International, Stikeman Elliott for certain British American Tobacco entities, Inch Hammond and Cozen O’Connor for Grand River Enterprises Six Nations Ltd., and Lax O’Sullivan for the court-appointed mediator, the Honourable Warren Winkler, K.C., along with additional counsel representing insurers and other stakeholders.

Social Interest Restructuring of the Year

Recognizes a restructuring where the outcome had meaningful implications for the public good or societal welfare. Eligible matters may involve non-profits, publicly funded institutions, class actions, environmental issues, or vulnerable groups such as pensioners, First Nations, or low-income communities. Impact—not deal size—is the focus.

FINALISTS

Varennes Cellulosic Ethanol (VCE)
A landmark CCAA proceeding involving a $950 million clean-fuel infrastructure project central to Québec’s decarbonization strategy. The restructuring preserved public investment, addressed complex cross-border supply chain challenges, and approved a rare reverse vesting order that enabled the project’s continuation and future transformation into green methanol production.

EY was the monitor. Counsel included Fasken for the monitor, McCarthy Tétrault for Investissement Québec, Gowling WLG for the Canada Infrastructure Bank, Davies for RBC, Miller Thomson for Hydro-Québec, Osler for Proman Services Canada Inc., Norton Rose Fulbright for Gastier, and Torys for StormFisher as purchaser.

Canadian Mental Health Association, Vancouver-Fraser Branch
A not-for-profit restructuring that ensured uninterrupted delivery of housing, employment, and mental health services to hundreds of vulnerable individuals. Through an NOI process and a carefully structured asset and service transition, core programs were preserved, employees retained, and continuity of care maintained across the Lower Mainland.

MNP was the proposal trustee. Counsel was Lawson Lundell for the debtor and Norton Rose Fulbright for the trustee.

Minto Metals
A first-of-its-kind, First Nation-led solution following the abandonment of a Yukon mine. The restructuring facilitated the acquisition of mine assets by Selkirk First Nation through a novel, bifurcated transaction structure that preserved environmental stewardship, enabled remediation, and created long-term economic opportunity for the local community.

PwC was the receiver. Counsel was Lawson Lundell for the receiver, Fasken for the petitioner, TGF for the Yukon Government, Blakes for the senior secured lender Capstone Mining, Osler for the interim lender, Austring, Fairman & Fekete for Selkirk First Nation, DLA Piper for Yukon Energy Corporation, Miller Thomson for various lien claimants, Dentons for Finning International, and Dickinson Wright for Caterpillar Financial Services, along with additional counsel representing other lien claimants and stakeholders.

Changemaker Award

Honours a restructuring case that broke new ground—by creating legal precedent, navigating an emerging industry, or introducing novel strategies, structures, or technologies that advance the practice of insolvency and restructuring in Canada.

FINALISTS

Brunswick Health Group (Cyber Incident Receivership)
A precedent-setting receivership addressing cybersecurity breaches in an insolvency context. The Court provided critical guidance on the scope and limitation of receiver liability in relation to privacy obligations following ransomware attacks, establishing an important framework for future restructurings involving cyber risk.

Raymond Chabot acted as monitor and receiver. Counsel was McCarthy Tétrault for Raymond Chabot, BLG for BDC as secured creditor, and ML Kaufman for TD Bank.

Hudson’s Bay Company Lease Assignment Litigation
A landmark decision clarifying the limits of forced contract assignments under section 11.3 of the CCAA in a liquidating restructuring. The ruling now stands as the leading authority on balancing debtor objectives against the rights of contractual counterparties, particularly commercial landlords.

Alvarez & Marsal acted as monitor, with Bennett Jones as monitor’s counsel. Stikeman Elliott acted for Hudson’s Bay Company, with Reflect Advisors as financial advisor.

Torys acted for Cadillac Fairview and other objecting landlords, alongside Goodmans, TGF, Tyr, Blaney McMurtry, and Lax O’Sullivan.

Blakes acted as Canadian counsel and Ropes & Gray as US counsel for the FILO agent. Osler acted as Canadian counsel and Choate Hall as US counsel for Pathlight. Cassels acted for Hilco. Lenczner Slaght also acted for landlord interests. Stakeholders further included Ivanhoe Cambridge, KingSett Capital, Primaris, QuadReal Property Group, Oxford Properties, Ruby Liu Commercial Investment Corp., and other affected landlords and counterparties.

My Mortgage Auction Corp.
A groundbreaking insolvency response to one of the largest Ponzi schemes in British Columbia history. The Trustee successfully pursued a single, consolidated clawback application against hundreds of net winners, establishing a new procedural roadmap for efficient and equitable recovery in fraud-driven bankruptcies.

PwC acted as Trustee. Counsel was Blakes for the Trustee.

Consumer Insolvency Initiative of the Year

Honours a project or initiative led by a consumer insolvency firm that made a positive impact—whether by improving public awareness, enhancing access to debt relief, advancing professional standards, or supporting underrepresented communities.

FINALISTS

BDO Canada and Gillian’s Place Financial Wellness Partnership
A community-based initiative providing free, trauma-informed insolvency guidance and financial education to survivors of gender-based violence. By embedding professional financial support within a trusted social service organization, the program helped vulnerable individuals regain financial stability alongside personal safety.

MNP Consumer Debt Index
A nationally recognized research initiative that tracks Canadians’ financial confidence, resilience, and vulnerability to insolvency. Conducted quarterly for more than thirty waves, the Index has become a trusted public barometer of household financial stress, shaping media coverage, policy discussions, and consumer awareness across the country.

Spergel Debt Load and Psychological Wellbeing Study
A national research project examining the emotional and mental health impacts of consumer debt, with a focus on reducing stigma and promoting more human-centred insolvency practice. The second annual study expanded the data set and deepened insight into the lived experience of financial distress.

Outstanding Contribution Award

Honours an individual whose many contributions to the insolvency and restructuring profession in Canada over an extended period of time reflect the highest standards of professionalism and excellence.

As previously announced, the inaugural Outstanding Contribution Award will be presented to The Honourable Chief Justice Geoffrey B. Morawetz. This category is not finalist-based and is awarded to a single recipient in recognition of exceptional leadership and service to the profession.

The Honourable Chief Justice Geoffrey B. Morawetz
Chief Justice Morawetz is being recognized for a lifetime of leadership, scholarship, and judicial service that has had a lasting influence on Canadian insolvency law. Through his decisions on the Commercial List, his leadership within the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, and his contributions to insolvency scholarship and international judicial cooperation, he has helped define the modern framework governing CCAA and BIA proceedings and strengthened the administration of commercial justice nationally and internationally.

The award will be presented at the Gala in recognition of his enduring impact on the profession and the courts.

Join Us at the Gala

Winners in each category will be announced live at the Canadian Insolvency Awards Gala on February 5, 2026.

We look forward to welcoming professionals from across the country to recognize the files and initiatives highlighted above and to connect with peers from throughout the insolvency and restructuring community. The evening is designed to celebrate the work, the teams behind it, and the strong outcomes achieved across the profession, reflecting how the bar continues to be pushed forward year after year.

Tickets and tables are now available, with full event details on the Awards website.