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Countdown clocks mark 1 year until World Cup soccer fans descend on Toronto, Vancouver

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The one-year countdown to the 2026 World Cup starts Wednesday, with clocks to be unveiled to mark the occasion in Toronto, Vancouver and Niagara Falls.

Toronto and Vancouver are World Cup host cities. Niagara Falls offers a world-class backdrop for a reminder that FIFA’s expanded 48-team soccer showcase is just around the corner.

There are more milestones to come in Canada, with a call for some 7,000 volunteers to be issued in August, ticket sales starting in September and the tournament draw in December.

Adidas has yet to unveil the match ball. Tournament mascots will also be introduced. The tournament’s official poster will join those of the 16 host cities.

And the World Cup trophy is scheduled to make an appearance in Ottawa on Canada Day.

The World Cup kicks off June 11, 2026, with games in Mexico City and Guadalajara. On June 12, the focus switches to matches in Toronto and Los Angeles.

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The final is set for July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

“It’s nine years so far on this project,” said Peter Montopoli, chief tournament officer for Canada. “This marathon is now at one year out, turned into a sprint. I think that’s the part we really enjoy. For the people who love to run events, this is the part that really excites them. This is where all the magic happens in the last year.

“So it’s exciting. It’s an exciting time to be running the event, it’s an exciting time for FIFA and it’s an exciting time for our country.”


In all, there will be 104 games, with 13 each in Canada and Mexico and the remaining 78 in the U.S. The last seven editions of the tournament featured 32 teams and 64 games.

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In addition to co-hosts Canada, Mexico and the U.S., Japan, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea and Uzbekistan have already qualified from Asia, along with New Zealand from Oceania and defending champion Argentina from South America (CONMEBOL).

It will be a first World Cup appearance for both Jordan and Uzbekistan.

On Wednesday, the two Canadian host cities will also release anniversary videos with actor Will Arnett featured in Toronto’s and former Canada goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc in Vancouver’s.

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Canadians will be able to apply for tickets two ways — through the FIFA lottery (assuming FIFA follows past practices) and via membership in Canada Soccer’s Canada Red program, which will distribute the ticket allotment for Canada matches.

“There’s different ways to purchase (tickets),” said Montopoli. “If you want to get in early, you go in the fall.”

Montopoli said there is no word yet on ticket pricing.

While the full match schedule won’t be known until the draw, Canada will open in Toronto and then play its remaining group games in Vancouver. Toronto and Vancouver will each host five opening-round matches plus a round-of-32 knockout match. Vancouver will also stage a round-of-16 game.

Canada Soccer is revamping its existing Canada Red membership program, expanding it from the current three tiers (the first free and the other two at a cost of $50 and $150 annually) to seven levels (from free to $5,000 annually). Each tier provides access to Canada Soccer’s ticketing allotment lottery for games featuring the Canadian men — the higher the tier, the higher the chances of securing tickets.

FIFA traditionally reserves a portion of each World Cup game’s tickets for the participating member federations. This is Canada Soccer’s method of distributing them. Canada Soccer also used a Canada Red tiered approach for tickets for Canada’s games at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

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Canada Red members in the top tiers will have the best chance to access tickets as they will have access to the first draw and each subsequent draw afterwards.

Canada Red, the new version of which launches later this summer, “directly supports” Canada Soccer’s philanthropic initiatives, according to Canada Soccer.

The Canada Red program currently has more than 100,000 members.

While the clock counts down, the City of Toronto is still looking for funds to help pay for its end of the tournament, arguing that it is having to dig deeper into its pocket because the cost of providing services related to public transport, policing and hospitals, among others, has increased to almost $40 million in total — reducing the provincial cash contribution and adding to the city’s bill.

The cost of hosting six games in Toronto has been pegged at $380 million, with the federal government contributing $104 million and Ontario, including services, $97 million. Toronto’s tab is $178.7 million (47 per cent of the total cost).

A ring of permanent suites is under construction at B.C. Place Stadium. BMO Field will get an additional 17,750 seats, bringing total capacity to around 45,735 seats, with the north and south ends expanded.

Two of four new video screens are now working at BMO Field, which is also getting new suites.

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FIFA will take over the tournament stadiums 30 days before the first game there, which would mean May 13 for Toronto and May 14 for Vancouver.

The tournament office in Toronto, already up and running, will have 82 full-time staff — it’s currently around 70 — with most getting an early taste of tournament work via the FIFA Club World Cup, which kicks off later this month in the U.S. The Vancouver office opens next Tuesday ahead of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

“We know what we need to do to execute,” Montopoli said of tournament preparation. “So we feel very comfortable in where we stand today. There’s always little nuances that can happen, but as of today — one year out — we’re exactly where we felt we needed to be to position ourselves for success.”

&copy 2025 The Canadian Press





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Oilers try to join rare Cup comeback club

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Eight teams in NHL history have won Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final to force a seventh game and gone on to win the championship.

The Edmonton Oilers are aiming to become the ninth after falling behind 3-2 to the Florida Panthers. Game 6 is Tuesday in Sunrise, Fla.

Here’s a look at the teams that have completed the comeback:

1942 – Toronto Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs trailed the Detroit Red Wings 3-0 before winning four straight to claim the Cup. They remain the only team in NHL history to erase a three-game deficit in the final. Toronto took Game 6 by a score of 3-0 and won Game 7 at Maple Leaf Gardens, 3-1.

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1950 – Detroit Red Wings

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The Red Wings stayed alive with a 5-4 win over the New York Rangers in Game 6, then captured the Cup with a 4-3 double-overtime victory in Game 7. Pete Babando scored the winner.

1964 – Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto stayed alive with a 4-3 overtime win over Detroit in Game 6, then secured a third straight championship with a 4-0 win in Game 7 on the road.


1971 – Montreal Canadiens

The Canadiens forced Game 7 with a 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, then captured the Cup with a 3-2 win at Chicago Stadium. Rookie goaltender Ken Dryden was named playoff MVP.

2001 – Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche responded to a Game 5 loss by shutting out the New Jersey Devils 4-0 in Game 6. They clinched the title with a 3-1 win in Game 7 in Denver.

2004 – Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa Bay kept its season alive with a 3-2 double-overtime win over the Calgary Flames in Game 6, with Martin St. Louis scoring the winner. The Lightning went on to win their first Cup with a 2-1 victory in Game 7.

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2009 – Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 in Game 6, then won the Cup with another 2-1 victory in Game 7 at Joe Louis Arena. Max Talbot scored both goals in the deciding game.

2011 – Boston Bruins

The Bruins forced Game 7 with a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks, then clinched the series with a 4-0 shutout at Rogers Arena. Boston goaltender Tim Thomas made 37 saves in the deciding game.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2025.

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‘Dozens of staged accidents’: Crime group linked to tow truck industry, extortions charged

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Peel Regional Police say key members of a Brampton-based criminal organization allegedly responsible several extortion incidents and staged car accidents are facing charges.

In a press conference on Monday, police revealed details of an investigation called Project Outsource which was launched in July 2024 after officers saw a sharp trend in violent extortion attempts and other criminal activity in the region.

Police allege Project Outsource found that the criminal network, which is allegedly tied to the tow truck industry, was operating with “two distinct but interconnected components: one dedicated to extortion and violence, and the other rooted in the towing industry.”

The force said several suspects were found to be associated with towing companies operating under the names “Certified Roadside” and “Humble Roadside.”

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“We have substantial evidence linking the group to dozens of staged accidents and potentially costing insurance companies between 80 and $100,000 for each staged accident,” said Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich with Peel Regional Police.

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“In total, those fraudulent claims exceed $1 million for this particular investigation,” Milinovich continued. “To put that in perspective, fraudulent claims to the industry of insurance represent an equal amount to stolen cars, a cost which is then passed on to our community.”

On June 10, police said a woman from King City along with 17 men from Brampton were arrested following several coordinated search warrants in Peel and York regions, as well as in Toronto, involving more than 200 officers.

All 18 people face almost 100 charges including conspiracy, extortion, fraud, firearm-related offences, participating and instructing in a criminal organization and staging collision offences.


Police noted that almost half of the accused were on some form of a judicial release at the time of their arrest. Several of them were known to police.

Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah said the two people who are believed to be responsible for leading the criminal organization are part of the arrests.

Over the course of Project Outsource, police said 18 tow trucks were seized with a total value of $2.8 million, five stolen vehicles were recovered worth more than $500,000, four personal high-end vehicles worth $840,000, six firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, as well as other various weapons such as crossbows, stun guns and baseball bats.

Project Outsource was created as a focused sub-investigation under the Extortion Investigative Task Force — created in 2023 in response to recent, sharp rise in violent extortion attempts targeting South Asian business owners, including demands for large sums of money, threats for non-payment, and acts of violence, including drive-by shootings.

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NDP calls for RCMP to include ‘permanently deleted’ emails in Greenbelt probe

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The Ontario NDP is calling on the RCMP to widen the scope of its criminal investigation into the Ford government’s Greenbelt dealings after a provincial watchdog determined that relevant documents were allegedly “permanently deleted” contrary to provincial law.

NDP Leader Marit Stiles is also acknowledging that the opposition parties at Queen’s Park may have “run out” of options to use official legislative channels to hold the government to account, even as more questions arise.

After a months-long battle with the Ford government over Greenbelt-related records, Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) determined the Progressive Conservative party violated “legal record-keeping obligations” by using “opaque codewords” to discuss the controversial policy.

Patricia Kosseim also said her office was concerned enough about government documents that the IPC was forced to issue an order to retain them in full. Despite that, some records remain unaccounted for.

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“We were pre-emptorily ordering the government to preserve all records and to recover emails that had been deleted, which they were able to and did and have since preserved all the records, except — as I said — those that were permanently deleted,” Kosseim told Global News.

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“We have no way of knowing the circumstances around that.”

It’s unclear, however, what, if any, consequences could arise from the permanent deletion of records.


While the RCMP has remained tight-lipped on its years-long investigation into the government’s decision-making, there have been few public signs of progress.

Meanwhile, the independent investigative bodies at Queens Park — the Integrity Commissioner, the Auditor General, and the Information and Privacy Commissioner — have all completed their Greenbelt investigations with varied impact.

“We’ve had a scathing report from the Auditor General. We’ve had a scathing report from the Integrity Commissioner. Now we have this report and these findings from the Information and Privacy Commissioner,” Stiles said.

“So to some extent, the tools here … we’ve run out.”

Stiles said the opposition is now looking to the RCMP’s Sensitive and International Investigations unit — which typically investigates allegations of financial crimes like fraud, corruption and procurement as well as complaints related to illegal lobbying activities and elected officials — to look deeper into the IPC’s findings.

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“The commissioner is very clear, laws were broken here,” Stiles said. “The last time a government was found to be permanently deleting emails like this around an issue that is contentious … somebody went to jail.”

In 2018, the former chief of staff to then-Premier Dalton McGuinty was sentenced to four months in jail after an Ontario judge found he directed the indiscriminate wiping of hard drives in the premier’s office in a deliberate effort to protect the office after the Liberal government decided to scrap two gas plants ahead of the 2011 provincial election.

Stiles is also calling for a public inquiry into the scandal.

“I certainly think that a matter like this, just like with the gas plant scandal, would merit a public inquiry,” Stiles said, but acknowledged that the chances of a majority government calling an inquiry into its own actions is unlikely.

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