As Toronto and Vancouver count down to hosting the FIFA World Cup, a new poll from the Angus Reid Institute has found that most Canadians believe hosting the World Cup is only worth it if the revenue from the event is substantial.
Seventy-one per cent of Canadians voted that the revenue meet or exceed the cost of hosting the event.
One in five of the people polled said it is not worth hosting the event regardless, while one in 10 said it is a valuable event for the cities to host, even if costs far exceed revenue.
The cost of hosting seven FIFA World Cup matches next year remains on track, the B.C. government said in a release in June.
Story continues below advertisement
The updated range for gross core costs of planning, staging and hosting the matches in Vancouver is now estimated to be between $532 million and $624 million, according to information provided by the province. The province estimates the portion it will contribute will be between $85 million and $145 million.
“Gross cost estimates increased as plans developed this year, particularly for safety and security and transportation,” the province said.
The province says the costs of the event will be offset by estimated revenues of between $448 million and $478 million, which is higher than it originally estimated in 2024.
More on Politics
More videos
Estimates from the summer place the cost at hosting seven games in Vancouver at $624 million to the province and municipal governments, with another $116 million committed by the federal government. In Toronto, it’s expected to cost $380 million, split between the three tiers of governments.
In the most recent poll, seventy-one per cent believe the ticket prices are too expensive for them to attend and 52 per cent said if they were given tickets to the World Cup, they would try to sell them for cash.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
Ticket prices for the FIFA games vary by city and tier.
Tickets as low as $60 are available for games, but most tickets range from hundreds or thousands of dollars more.
Story continues below advertisement
To even have the opportunity to purchase tickets, fans need to be chosen from a lottery and assigned a slot to make their purchase.
Canada, Mexico and the U.S. are hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup but the poll found that interest is more muted in Canada, with only 40 per cent saying they are very interested, while 56 per cent say they are not planning on paying close attention to the tournament.
In Canada’s two host cities, interest is higher than elsewhere in the country, according to the poll. At least half in Canada’s two largest cities say they plan on following the tournament.
More than two-thirds of those polled, 68 per cent, say they don’t follow international soccer at all.
Story continues below advertisement
Trending Now
-
Two of Canada’s wealthiest families have teamed up to make $18M bid for Hudson’s Bay charter
-
Carney’s federal budget faces critical confidence vote in House of Commons
Vancouver was first scheduled to host five World Cup games at an estimated cost of $230 million. However, it is now expected to cost $624 million, although Vancouver will host seven games.
Toronto was also expected to host only five matches at $300 million, but that cost has risen to $380 million with the addition of a sixth match.
Both cities said they anticipate a major economic bump from hosting the games, with the B.C. government estimating the event could boost Vancouver’s economy by $1 billion.
The majority view in Toronto, 69 per cent, and Vancouver, 64 per cent, is that the World Cup will be “worth it” if the cities at least break even or make a profit:
When it comes to other major world events, more than half of those polled believed hosting the Winter Olympics was a “worthwhile investment” for the host country, but Canadians were split on if hosting the Summer Olympics was “worthwhile.”
Fifty-four per cent of those polled said hosting the World Cup was “not worthwhile.”
Story continues below advertisement
Survey Methodology
The Angus Reid Institute conducted an online survey from Oct. 7-11, 2025, among a randomized sample of 2,031 Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum. The sample was weighted to be representative of adults nationwide according to region, gender, age, household income, and education, based on the Canadian census. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding. The survey was self-commissioned and paid for by ARI.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
