He was once Toronto’s condo king. Now he’s living in an abandoned knitting mill. What happened?
Harry Stinson says the Ontario Securities Commission is on a “witch hunt,” and he’s the target. The OSC says Stinson still owes $14 million.
Aug. 15, 2026 By Ana Pereira Staff Reporter Toronto Star
The old knitting mill in downtown Hamilton, surrounded by garbage and covered with graffiti, looks abandoned, but there is someone living inside.
Behind its walls, the air feels damp. The sunlight struggles to seep through windows blocked by black drapes. Upstairs, the wood-beamed ceiling is collapsing from neglect.
Harry Stinson is sitting at a dining table by the kitchenette on the main floor. He’s got a slim build, grey hair and relentless blue eyes. He’s wearing a black T-shirt that reads, “I’m not dead yet,” and he’s ready to defend himself.
Not that long ago, Stinson was Toronto’s condo king.
In the mid-1990s, he was among the first developers in Toronto to realize the potential of converting heritage buildings into residences. He was the force behind iconic projects that shaped the character of the city, including the Candy Factory Lofts on Queen St. W. and the One King West Hotel.
Now Stinson is living in a decrepit Hamilton warehouse after selling his $1.4 million home under power of sale. His original plan was to turn the building into a commercial and residential complex, but he only got as far as creating an office and a model suite, which serves as his home.
He’s teetering on the edge of bankruptcy after being found to have broken the law.
On July 3, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) announced it applied to obtain a bankruptcy order against Stinson and have a trustee take over his assets, after he didn’t remit $14 million in sanctions ordered by the Capital Markets Tribunal in 2023.
The tribunal found that Stinson illegally raised funds from investors for the renovation of a hotel in Buffalo, New York. He didn’t file the required paperwork and failed to maintain accurate records of investments collected, according to the OSC.
Stinson believes the regulator is being heavy-handed: He says the OSC is on a “witch hunt,” and he’s the target. He maintains that he didn’t defraud investors and that he can still turn the Buffalo hotel around.
The rest of the story
https://www.thespec.com/thestar/business...9ecc229-862a-5dbd-8a87-bc6044d2dda5.html
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And "delusional" would be buying anything you're selling. I think that the Cannon Knitting Mill is going to sit for a long time unless someone else gets a shot at its redevelopment.
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