The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC), the federal consumer regulator for banks, signed a $299,958.83 contract with Ekos Research Associates Inc. on June 16, 2026 for its “2026-2027 Monthly Financial Well-being Monitor,” according to the federal proactive disclosure of contracts. The contract runs to December 31, 2027. It was a call-up under an already-competed government standing offer; the record lists zero bids.

Ekos is the firm of Frank Graves, its founder and president. In April 2010 Graves was quoted advising the Liberals to run a culture war against the Conservatives, saying: “If the cranky old men in Alberta don’t like it, too bad. Go south and vote for Palin.” He apologized at the time for what he called incendiary remarks and denied any anti-Conservative bias.

Rebel News reported in September 2023 on an Ekos poll, “Polarized Gridlock,” that linked Conservative support to what the poll called disinformation beliefs.

Go Ad Free

The monitor is a monthly online and telephone survey of about 1,000 adults, begun in August 2020 as the COVID-19 Financial Well-being Survey and renamed in July 2023. The government’s annual report on public opinion research lists the 2025-26 edition, conducted by Ekos, at $299,578.33; this year’s 18-month contract is close to that value. The report also shows Ekos was the largest supplier of custom federal polling by value in 2025-26: 12 projects worth $1,384,831.91, out of $11,679,618.56 spent on 104 custom projects by 33 departments.

Veterans Affairs Canada signed a second Ekos contract on June 1, 2026, worth $110,121.42, under the same standing offer, one bid received, described as “Advertising services”; the record does not say whether it involves polling. FCAC is funded mainly through assessments on the financial institutions it supervises, plus up to $5 million a year for financial literacy.

The FCAC buyer named on the record is Paola Amaral. The agency’s head is Commissioner Shereen Benzvy Miller, whose five-year appointment from November 7, 2024 was announced on October 15, 2024 by then Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. The record states no minister’s office involvement; no link between the commissioner and the award is alleged. No political donation record for Miller or Graves was found by web search.

Twelve federal polling projects in 2025-26, and a $300,000 monthly tracker this year, went to the firm of the pollster who once told the Liberals that Alberta’s “cranky old men” could go vote for Palin.