How much will the World Cup really cost B.C.? Government promises update before kickoff
The province and the City of Vancouver still have not provided cost information with the event only a month away
Last updated 13 hours ago
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It’s been almost a year since British Columbian taxpayers saw updated cost projections for the World Cup in B.C., though the host committee is pledging another update before the tournament begins one month from today.
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It’s a pledge that some critics and opposition politicians find far from satisfying.
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On Monday, officials at the B.C. Tourism Ministry and the FIFA World Cup 2026 Vancouver Host Committee said that an update on costs, including public safety and security, revenues and economic benefits would be provided “in the coming weeks.”
Pressed on timing, a spokesperson for the committee said they were “working toward sharing the next financial update ahead of the start of the tournament.”
Carson Binda, B.C. director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, says there’s no reason to keep the public in the dark until the tournament is nearly underway or has already started.
“We need accountability and we need it now,” Binda said. “We haven’t been told for nearly a year what the province thinks this is going to cost taxpayers. Seven soccer games shouldn’t come with a blank cheque, and without a publicly released budget, that’s exactly what this looks like.”
Vancouver is to host seven matches for the international men’s soccer tournament, with the first on June 13 between Australia and Turkey. The Canadian team will play two of its three group stage matches at B.C. Place against Qatar and Switzerland on June 18 and June 24.
The tournament’s first game will be in Mexico City on June 11, and the final will be in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 19.
Last June, the B.C. government estimated that the province would spend between $532 million and $624 million. That’s a 10 per cent jump from the 2024 estimate of between $483 million and $581 million, and more than double the early estimate in 2022.
Jarrett Vaughan, an adjunct professor at the University of B.C., said he is getting less hopeful that the final price for B.C. to host the tournament will be worth it.
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Vaughan speculated the trade war between Canada and the United States could also have an impact.
“I think that taxpayers need to be super skeptical and reticent in terms of any number that the provincial government gives related to the cost, because they don’t have a track record in being able to predict such a thing,” Vaughan said.
“Our dollar is fairly weak, so it’s affordable for Americans to come visit. So that is a benefit. But I think the optimism which we saw around FIFA, maybe a year or two ago has waned, and I don’t think it’s going to be as good for the city as we had once hoped.”
Macklin McCall, the B.C. Conservative public safety critic, says he is concerned the province still appears to be in the planning stage and that not only is the Tourism Ministry unable to provide overall figures, but Public Safety Minister Nina Krieger won’t say how security will cost.
McCall said he questioned the minister in the legislature last week and the only thing she would say is that an update is coming soon.
“She says it’s very fluid. It’s very dynamic. She can’t give a number today, and it’s now changing and evolving,” said McCall.
Last year, the City of Vancouver projected its portion of direct costs to be between $261 million and $281 million.
But the office of Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said this week that only $5 million of that will be borne directly by Vancouver taxpayers.
Instead, said mayor’s office spokesperson Taylor Verrall, the vast majority of the city’s portion of tournament-related costs will be covered by other sources, including commercial revenue, facility rental fees, and the funding mechanism announced in 2022 by the B.C. government, which adds extra taxes on short-term accommodations to help municipalities cover the costs of major events.
Some city councillors from outside the mayor’s ABC party are frustrated about a lack of transparency.
Vote Vancouver Coun. Rebecca Bligh, who is running for mayor this year against Sim said: “The mayor needs to be honest with residents about the costs and trade-offs.”
If Vancouver is directing tax dollars to the World Cup while freezing municipal property taxes, the public deserves a “clear explanation of what gets delayed, what gets cut, and how that compares to urgent city needs like public safety, community centre repairs, life-saving services, and affordable rental housing,” Bligh said.
Green Coun. Pete Fry, another mayoral candidate, said he’s concerned about what the event will eventually cost Vancouver taxpayers.
“We don’t have eyes on it, we don’t have a clear budget process with an itemized line budget, so we have no idea where the money’s being spent,” Fry said. “I can’t get a straight answer.”
