Emma McIntosh

Suspicious transactions at GTA crypto shops reveal alleged links to Iran-backed terror groups. Is the regulator doing enough to police them? FINTRAC says it rigorously polices the money services sector, has issued more than $200 million in fines, and is monitoring crypto activity.

Suspicious transactions at GTA crypto shops reveal alleged links to Iran-backed terror groups. Is the regulator doing enough to police them? #StarInvestigation

Gift-redeem

Experts say our findings amplify troubling questions already being asked about Canada's oversight of crypto businesses.

Gift link here 🎁🔓
www.thestar.com/gift-redeem?...

This story relied on blockchain data from Crystal Intelligence, which allowed us to take an in-depth look at crypto wallets associated with two Yonge Street shops.

We found transactions showing alleged connections to Iran's Revolutionary Guards and a Houthi financier.

ICYMI, an investigation by @sheilawang.bsky.social, me and @icij.org has found more than 30 unauthorized crypto-to-cash shops on Yonge Street in the Greater Toronto Area, openly flouting the law.

We also found alleged links to Iran-backed terror groups.

Suspicious transactions at GTA crypto shops reveal alleged links to Iran-backed terror groups. Is the regulator doing enough to police them? FINTRAC says it rigorously polices the money services sector, has issued more than $200 million in fines, and is monitoring crypto activity.

Suspicious transactions at GTA crypto shops reveal alleged links to Iran-backed terror groups. Is the regulator doing enough to police them?

Latest investigation from @sheilawang.bsky.social and me, with
help from our friends at @icij.org
www.thestar.com/news/investi...

Translated lede:

"Doug Ford justified the mandatory return of public servants to the office by saying that in-person work increased productivity. But the department responsible for the measure disagrees, reveals a document obtained by Le Droit under the Access to Information Act."

#OnPoli

A GPS tracker. Attempted insurance fraud. Alarming new allegations emerge in the Toronto police corruption scandal One cop arrested in Project South is accused of helping an associate install a GPS tracker on a woman's vehicle so she could be followed.

From the Star’s Jennifer Pagliaro, @fxplante.bsky.social and me:
www.thestar.com/news/investi...

Inside the Far-Right Push to Influence Canadian Political Parties | The Tyee A conference call shows a political operative with past Conservative connections advising several white nationalist groups.

A former OneBC staffer previously participated in a Spaces call with the leaders of white nationalist/"Canadian nationalist" organizations.

They talked about deporting 10 million people and joked about throwing "millions of Punjabis" into the sea. 1/3 thetyee.ca/News/2026/02...

icymi from me: the Greenbelt scandal rages on for one developer who has filed a new lawsuit against Ontario.

"I know that people don’t necessarily, in a lot of cases, sympathize with land developers. I get that. But this could be anything," the company's lawyer said. www.thestar.com/news/investi...

Developer advances Greenbelt lawsuit, seeking $300M from Ontario government | Globalnews.ca Minotar Holdings, a development company that owns roughly 210 acres of land in Markham, recently filed a fresh statement of claim against the provincial government.

NEW: An Ontario developer is seeking compensation from the Ford government over how it handled the Greenbelt reversal. Their lawyer says the ordeal sets a dangerous precedent for anyone entering into a contract with the province. #OnPoli
globalnews.ca/news/1159350...

City investigating after contractor drives tractor with snowplow through Palestinian protest Videos show a tractor with a snowplow attached driving through a crowd on the sidewalk in front of the U.S. consulate on Tuesday evening.

City investigating after contractor drives tractor with snowplow through Palestinian protest

The trail had gone cold for millions in stolen crypto. Then came the ‘aha!’ moment that unlocked the mystery Bitcoin taken from Canadians ended up in crypto wallets controlled by ‘a hidden company.’ The fight to recoup the funds is far from over.

Kyrrex controlled #crypto wallets that contained funds originally stolen from victims across the globe: a Canadian farmer, a Belgian scientist, a Danish politician...

From @emmamci.bsky.social and me in collab with @icij.org

www.thestar.com/news/investi...

Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era | The Local A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work. By the end, four publications, including The Guardian and Dwell, had removed articles from their sites.

"Every media era gets the fabulists it deserves." Brilliant essay/investigation by @nickhunebrown.bsky.social into journalism scammers in the age of AI.
thelocal.to/investigatin...

The lies Danielle Smith is telling to overturn trans kids’ rights | Xtra Magazine The Alberta government is invoking the Notwithstanding Clause to protect its three anti-trans laws from being challenged in the courts

My story on this and a whole lot more 💫

xtramagazine.com/power/politi...

Saving my earnestness for bluesky, but the ICIJ's Panama Papers investigation was a big influence on me early in my career and a big part of why I've done so much collaborative journalism. So it was really cool to finally work on an ICIJ story all these years later :~)

This story is part of the Coin Laundry, an investigation led by the ICIJ. A massive effort from 38 media outlets in 35 countries. Check out the full package here -- so many wild stories and more to come: bsky.app/profile/icij...

Inside Canada’s shadowy crypto banking system that makes it easy to facilitate ‘an unlimited amount of crime’ Reporters went undercover to expose a growing crypto-to-cash industry that is openly flouting anti-money laundering measures.

New from @sheilawang.bsky.social + me, with @icij.org, @lapresse.ca + @cbcradiocanada.bsky.social. A surge of unregistered firms are allowing Toronto crypto users to anonymously cash out big sums in violation of anti-money laundering law. Sheila tested it undercover:
www.thestar.com/news/investi...

Inside Canada’s shadowy crypto banking system that makes it easy to facilitate ‘an unlimited amount of crime’ Reporters went undercover to expose a growing crypto-to-cash industry that is openly flouting anti-money laundering measures.

Inside Canada’s shadowy crypto banking system that makes it easy to facilitate ‘an unlimited amount of crime’ #Star/ICIJinvestigation

Thanks Jimmy!!

psssst also if you're hitting the paywall, the Star's work is available for free through the Toronto Public Library! this work is not free to produce, so thank you to the many readers who support our work and make reporting like this possible

A ‘jaw-dropper’ poll showed surging support for an Alberta separatist party. Turns out the polling firm and the party weren’t so separate The Alberta Republican Party leader previously had an ownership stake in the same polling company that reported support for his new party was surging.

Polling is a political world -- but when it comes to pollster connections with parties, how close is too close? And what kind of vetting and disclosure should media and polling aggregators be doing before publishing their results?
www.thestar.com/news/investi...

And many Albertans will know Davies for his role in the 2019 kamikaze scandal, for which he was fined $27k by Elections Alberta.

Phillippe J. Fournier, the editor in chief of 338Canada, told the Star he was aware of Cardinal Research’s connection to Davies and scrutinizes its polls accordingly. 338Canada gives the firm a relatively low rating, which means its results sway the site’s projections less than other pollsters. “If I see that the numbers are trying to not measure the narrative, but drive the narrative, I would certainly call them out,” Fournier said, adding that he hasn’t seen reason to distrust Cardinal’s work so far. The firm’s finding of higher levels of support for the Alberta Republican Party was “maybe a tad high, but it’s not implausible,” he said, noting that it hasn’t been confirmed by other pollsters yet. “I know Curtis (Fric), and he told me ‘I’m the one doing the numbers, and nobody else.’ And so his word was good enough for me, because I’ve known him online for years, and we spoke on the phone a few times. He’s extremely diligent with his work.”

When it was released in September, Cardinal’s Alberta poll didn’t set off red flags for Grenier of the Writ. New pollsters are always treated with skepticism, he says. But elections are the only real test of a pollster’s accuracy, he says, and Cardinal had “okay results” in some recent provincial races and their methodology in Alberta seemed reasonable, Grenier said. Their results also seemed “plausible,” given the RPA’s showing in recent byelections. Grenier worked on CBC’s Poll Tracker for the 2025 federal election and included a Cardinal survey in the model. CBC spokesperson Chuck Thompson said the broadcaster only adds polls to its tracker if they were commissioned by media outlets or independently self-commissioned by polling firms, and that it weights them based on the track record of the pollster. “Polls commissioned by political parties, interest groups or advocacy organizations are excluded,” Thompson said in an email. “Irrespective of any ownership ties, this poll met that criteria.” Thompson did not answer when asked whether CBC will include Cardinal’s polls in the future.

Fric, a former NDP candidate, runs a very popular X account called Polling Canada and writes a bit for 338Canada.

His work at Cardinal Research has been picked up by 338 and by CBC's polling aggregator. Cardinal has also polled recently on the the Calgary/Edmonton mayoral races

Davies said that prior to the sale, he was only “loosely involved” with Cardinal and played no role in Cardinal Research’s surveys. Those operations were led, Davies said, by a “very sharp gentleman” named Curtis Fric, Cardinal’s Ontario-based lead researcher and the public face of the polling firm. In an earlier interview with the Star, Fric had denied any connection between Cardinal Research and Davies or the Alberta Republican Party. He did not answer followup questions about the apparent discrepancy between his account and the one later given by Davies.

Corporate records show Cardinal Research was incorporated as a trade name of one of Davies' companies back in 2024. Davies confirmed the connection to the Star, then later appeared to try to walk it back.

Cardinal's lead researcher Curtis Fric denied it outright.

A ‘jaw-dropper’ poll showed surging support for an Alberta separatist party. Turns out the polling firm and the party weren’t so separate The Alberta Republican Party leader previously had an ownership stake in the same polling company that reported support for his new party was surging.

New from @alexboyd.bsky.social and me: A 'jaw-dropper' new survey from pollster Cardinal Research last month showed surging support for the Alberta Republican Party.

But neither the firm nor the party disclosed they have common DNA: party leader Cam Davies.
www.thestar.com/news/investi...

A ‘jaw-dropper’ poll showed surging support for an Alberta separatist party. Turns out the polling firm and the party weren’t so separate The Alberta Republican Party leader previously had an ownership stake in the same polling company that reported support for his new party was surging.

A new poll last month made waves when it showed 11 per cent support for the Republican Party of Alberta and their push to separate. Turns out the pollster and the party shared some DNA. New story from @emmamci.bsky.social and me.

www.thestar.com/news/investi...

West Coast Blue Jays fans debate trip to Seattle for ALCS as trade war with U.S. looms Blue Jays fans always show up when they play the Mariners in Seattle. Ahead of the ALCS matchup, some are more hesitant this time around.

Thanks to those who reached out! West Coast Blue Jays fans debate trip to Seattle for ALCS as trade war with U.S. looms www.thestar.com/sports/blue-...

I think a lot of people seem to be feeling that way! Would you be willing to talk more about this for the story I'm working on?

A lot of people seem to feel that way! Would you be interested in talking about it for this story I’m working on?