Carson Binda is the BC Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.British Columbians don't think it's worth it to spend hundreds of millions of dollars hosting seven FIFA World Cup soccer games in 2026, according to new polling from Leger, commissioned by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.With a price tag that could now exceed $624 million, who can blame British Columbians for having second thoughts?About 50% say that a few soccer games aren’t worth a price tag of more than half a billion dollars, according to Leger. About 40% are ok with the bill and 10% aren't sure.Meanwhile, the price keep going up.The provincial government said the World Cup would cost $240 to $260 million back in 2022. Now the government is projecting it will end up being between $538 to $624 million. That means costs for taxpayers have ballooned by 160%, if you look at the high-end estimates.At this point, the games are going to cost taxpayers close to $1 million per minute of playtime.Inflation has increased by about 8.2% since BC announced its plan to host World Cup games, according to the Bank of Canada's inflation calculator.That means bad management, not inflation, is behind the big cost overruns..Meanwhile, British Columbia's government is recklessly adding $23.6 billion to the provincial debt this year. Interest on that debt is already costing taxpayers more than $5 billion this year. That’s more money than the province is collecting in the motor fuels and property taxes combined.While the government spends hundreds of millions on a handful of international soccer games, BC is the centre of a national affordability crisis. Homes are more expensive in BC than anywhere else in Canada. Nearly half of BC renters are cutting back on food and groceries just to pay their bills.When families are skipping dinner just to keep a roof over their head and the province is borrowing billions, why are Premier David Eby and Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim wasting $624 million on a few soccer games?And here's a real kicker: even after taking into account revenue that the government is going to take in from the games, taxpayers are still looking at a net cost of up to $145 million, assuming the government's generous cost estimates are accurate..The government wants to make taxpayers pay for the games with a new hotel tax. That tax will make hotel rooms in Vancouver 2.5 per cent more expensive for four years after the FIFA big whigs have gone back home to Switzerland.And those FIFA big whigs run a notoriously scandal prone international organization. Numerous FIFA executives have been indicted and charged with a range of white-collar crimes including racketeering and corruption.The FIFA hotel tax will cost taxpayers about $260 million, according to the new cost estimates released by the government. This FIFA tax-grab makes it more expensive for families to stay in Vancouver to catch a Canucks or Lions game.The World Cup will see 104 matches played in 16 cities across the United States, Mexico and Canada. Vancouver will only get five group stage games and two in the knock-out rounds, which, depending on who's playing, could attract major international attention or hardly any at all.Instead of hiking taxes to pay for seven unpopular soccer games, the government should cut taxes to keep more money in people's pockets or pay for the core services like education and health care that British Columbians rely on.Eby and Sim need to do the right thing and cancel Vancouver's participation in the World Cup. BC can't afford it and the taxpayers being left with the bill aren't interested.Carson Binda is the BC Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
