05/28/2026
The excitement is building, especially in two of Canada’s major cities, as the FIFA World Cup is only a couple of weeks away.
The country will host 13 matches of the tournament, six of them in Toronto.
But for political leaders, some data might be having a dampening effect on their excitement, including a report based on recent information the cost of hosting the games will surpass $1 billion.
Four years ago, then-mayor John Tory said the games would put Toronto on the map, bringing soccer fans from around the world, along with the money they would spend.
The original cost of the games to Canada was pegged at just over $500 million. Now, the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates the price tag will be over $1 billion.
It’s estimated that about 300,000 soccer fans will descend on the city for the tournament. Bars, restaurants, airlines and hotels will be the big winners.
"As a businessperson being down by the stadium, of course, the buzz is already there," said Wayne Cowley, owner of The Bottom Line sports bar in Toronto. "We’re already booked solid for some of the matches. Usually for the summer we’re dead, so ... for something like this to come to the city, it’s going to be crazy."
Like Cowley’s bar, hundreds of others in Toronto say they are booked up for some of the games.
But the predicted costs of those matches to the various governments run to about $82 million per game. While that number might be sobering to some, there are experts who say they aren’t surprised.
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