'It's absurd': Toronto taxpayers face even-bigger bill as FIFA World Cup costs climb
Toronto’s cost of hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup continues to climb, with the latest price tag hitting $380 million -- $80 million more than the estimate in place when the city was named a host two years ago.
“For me, it's important that we are transparent, that we are realistic,” Mayor Olivia Chow responded Monday from Ottawa. “No one anticipated the rate of inflation of today.”
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
Inflationary uncertainty is among the factors cited by city staff in the latest cost estimate, along with updated price estimates, vendor quotes, and safety and security requirements.
Moreover, Toronto was awarded six games as part of the joint bid with 15 other cities – one more match than officials here had accounted for.
“It’s unfortunate that it's gone up,” Deputy Mayor Mike Colle told CTV News Toronto Monday. “But I think [the tournament] is a positive contribution to this city, and we're putting this city on the world map.”
Toronto will host the first-ever FIFA World Cup game in Canada, featuring Team Canada’s opening match, on June 12, 2026. Toronto city staff began reviewing planning assumptions and cost estimates earlier this month when the official match schedule was released.
- READ MORE: 2026 FIFA World Cup Toronto match schedule
“It’s absurd,” Toronto Councillor Josh Matlow said Monday. “The agreement that [former Mayor] John Tory oversaw didn't just drop the ball. He scored on his own goal. The amount of money that Toronto is putting into this, versus other levels of government, is embarrassing.”
The province has pledged $97 million toward Toronto’s hosting costs, and while the federal government has committed to support the city, the funding is still being finalized.
“The economic benefit is the real piece here,” Toronto Budget Chief Shelley Carroll said Monday. “There’s a sort of unquantifiable benefit to putting on one of these events. and putting the city on the world stage.”
Previous staff estimates pegged the gross domestic product benefit of the tournament as $392 million to Toronto, along with $456 million to the province.
BMO Field in Toronto is pictured on Wednesday, June 13, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsaro
“The reality is we can't pay our bills on the GDP,” Toronto Councillor Brad Bradford said. “It will be the provincial and the federal government that will be the large benefactors of that additional revenue spent over the course of World Cup.”
“I think we've got to find a way of, you know, mitigating this impact by getting help from our [government] partners,” Colle said.
City staff, meanwhile, have floated the idea of directing revenue from the municipal hotel tax to the World Cup bill, and also intend to explore private-sector sponsorships.
The City has already allotted more than $65 million toward design and upgrades at BMO Field, where the matches will be held, along with $34 million for the training fields and facilities at Centennial Park.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Family of toddler found dead at small-town Ont. daycare no closer to answers after year of investigation
A year has passed since two-year-old Vienna Irwin was found on the property of a home-based daycare in small-town Ontario, but her family says they are no closer to answers of what happened that day.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
Humboldt Broncos crash victims and families react to decision to deport truck driver
The family of one of the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018 says they are 'thankful' for a decision by a Calgary immigration board to deport the driver of the truck involved.
Fatal plane crash reported near Squamish, B.C.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has confirmed it is working with local Mounties and the BC Coroners Service after a plane crash near Squamish, B.C. Friday night.
'God forgives but we don’t': Loud outburst from stabbing victim’s family during sentencing hearing
An emotional outburst in a London, Ont. courtroom Friday disrupted the sentencing hearing of a woman who pleaded guilty for her part in the death of 29-year-old Mohammed Abdallah.
Three dead after vehicle plunged down a 100-foot embankment in Shediac, N.B.
Three people have died after a vehicle veered off the road in Shediac N.B., Friday morning.
Appeal denied for Edmonton soldier accused of trying to kill her 3 children
An Edmonton woman found guilty of trying to kill her three children has been denied an appeal.