FIFA World Cup to cost Canada $1B

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]With just a few weeks until the World Cup, we're learning more about the price tag with the games coming here to Canada and Torontonians are weighing in.

[00:00:08]I think it is ridiculous that we're spending that amount on uh on basically just a sports game. Just over $1 billion, that's the number the federal budget watchdog says Canada is expected to spend. With the federal government's contribution expected to be $473 million with up to $145 million of that going towards security and law enforcement recourse at the games. With the remaining money coming from all levels of government according to the PBO. But with 13 games scheduled to be played between Toronto and Vancouver, the billion-dollar price tag is generating mixed opinions.

[00:00:48]A billion-dollar bill for 13 international soccer games is unacceptable. That works out to more than $82 million for each individual game. At a time when everyone is struggling and government's promising it's looking for savings, it shouldn't be spending a billion dollars hosting a handful of soccer games. And when it comes to the overall billion-dollar figure, the PBO added that it follows the amount spent by previous host countries. We're going to have billions of viewers who are going to be tuning in to watch the matches.

[00:01:19]And we've worked with FIFA and all of the broadcast holders to make sure that when people are watching those games in Toronto, they're seeing amazing B-roll of the city. They're seeing the footage of our skyline and our neighborhoods.

[00:01:30]They're hearing about the stories of what makes Toronto so unique and diverse. And that inspires future visitation, which is going to be huge for the city. I think it's a great event for the city, but that dollar figure is um well, riveting. That's insane. Um especially with our how our stadium looks, I don't think it looks anything compared to how the other stadiums looks like. So, I don't know really know where the money is going. Meanwhile, in a pre-tournament economic impact assessment conducted in 2024 by FIFA and Deloitte, the findings estimated that preparing for and hosting the World Cup would contribute to up to 3.8 billion in positive economic output for Canada as a host nation. Toronto will host six games with Vancouver hosting seven. We also reached out to FIFA to ask them if that 3.8 billion-dollar number has changed since 2024. There's been several economic changes in this country, but also around the world since then. FIFA didn't respond to that question. The first game here in Toronto is on June 12th. For City News in downtown Toronto, I'm Alessandra Carneiro.