OTTAWA — The federal government is expected to spend more than $1 billion to host 13 FIFA World Cup matches next year, according to a new report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer, with critics warning costs could still rise further.The report released Wednesday estimates total government support for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup at approximately $1.066 billion, including federal, provincial and municipal spending. Canada will host 13 games during the tournament, including seven in Vancouver and six in Toronto. The PBO estimates the total public cost at roughly $82 million per match. Federal taxpayers are expected to cover $473 million of the total, while the remaining $593 million will come from provincial and municipal governments. The largest costs are tied to hosting operations and security.The federal government is providing $220 million through Canadian Heritage for event delivery and infrastructure support, along with another $145 million in security-related transfers to British Columbia and Toronto. .The RCMP alone is expected to spend $79 million on security operations related to the tournament. The PBO estimates Vancouver’s total hosting costs at $578 million, while Toronto’s costs are projected at $380 million. The report also warns current projections may not represent the final bill.“Updates to municipal and provincial spending plans may be announced in the coming weeks,” the PBO wrote, noting that provincial and municipal costs could still rise beyond current estimates. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation criticized the scale of public spending tied to the tournament.“The federal government and provincial governments are spending $82 million per game when they can’t even cover the expenses in their own budgets,” said CTF Ontario Director Noah Jarvis.“It’s a bad idea to shell out a billion dollars for a few World Cup games when our governments are in deep debt and everyday taxpayers are struggling with rising prices.”The group also pointed to rising cost estimates compared to earlier projections from provincial and municipal governments.British Columbia taxpayers are expected to contribute at least $578 million for seven games, despite earlier government estimates in 2022 placing costs between $240 million and $260 million.Toronto’s six games are now expected to cost about $380 million, significantly above earlier estimates from 2018 that projected costs between $30 million and $45 million.CTF B.C. Director Carson Binda accused governments of overspending on the tournament.“Politicians are wasting a million dollars per minute hosting a handful of international soccer games,” Binda said.“FIFA is leaving taxpayers with big pocketbook pain, without the promised economic gain.”The PBO compared Canada’s projected costs to previous World Cups and found the country’s per-game spending is generally in line with recent tournaments hosted by countries such as Brazil and Russia, though substantially higher than older events in France and Germany.
