The fall-out from World War I and the collapse of new railway construction in Canada saw a syndicate of British investors led by Montreal, Quebec industrialist Roy M. Wolvin negotiate a takeover of SCOTIA's rival Dominion Steel Corporation in 1919. These investors proposed a $500 million merger of Dominion Steel Corporation, along with various British steel and shipbuilding interests. The plan came to fruition in 1921 when SCOTIA was merged with Dominion Steel Corporation to form part of the conglomerate known as the British Empire Steel Corporation (BESCO).