VICTORIA — As the New Democrats prepare to release a revised cost estimate for the World Cup in British Columbia, they continue to claim a reputed $1 billion in benefits from hosting seven soccer games.
The latest round in the game of understating costs and overstating benefits was triggered by a recent report from the federal parliamentary budget office on government financial support for hosting the men's World Cup. It pegged the cost for all levels of government — federal, provincial, and local — at $578 million, or $83 million for each of the seven games in B.C.
The report was immediately discounted by cabinet minister Anne Kang, whose Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport oversees B.C.'s role in hosting the FIFA event. She accused the budget watchdog of relying on out-of-date information. “I would not take the numbers that the PBO has provided as a fact,” Kang told reporters last week. “It was old data that was from last year.”
Yet the federal office chose from the mid-range of the provincial government's own cost estimate. This time last year, the province admitted the tab could go as high as $624 million, or almost $90 million per game. Kang said the province was working with the federal government, the city, and other partners to provide an updated costing before the end of the month.
Was Kang saying that the revised estimate would be lower than the one in the budget officer's report? No, she wasn't saying that. “When the numbers are released, you will know,” said Kang. “What I would like British Columbians to know is that this is not just a one-time investment on the seven games that we have here, but it is a long-term investment. In the next five years, we'll be able to see more than one million more visitors come and more than $1 billion of visitor spending here.”
The $1 billion claim also figured prominently in Premier David Eby's most recent defence of FIFA spending, delivered earlier this month at an event marking World Cup related improvements to B.C. Place. In light of faltering demand for hotel rooms and tickets for the fan zone, did Eby think the “FIFA juice is worth the squeeze on taxpayers?” He did. “Our projections are about a billion dollars of impact.”
The $1 billion claim derives from a 12-page assessment of the economic impact of the World Cup over the years 2026-31, released in 2024 by B.C. Stats and the tourism ministry. The report claimed that the World Cup would deliver a $1 billion boost in retail sales and provincial GDP over the next five years. It also forecast that one million additional visitors would come to B.C. over the same period as a result of the province hosting seven soccer games.
While the New Democrats seized on those numbers — $1 billion in sales! One million visitors! — they ignored cautionary passages in the report. The document included key caveats about the uncertainty of projections and the potential for costs to outweigh benefits. However, the NDP has consistently highlighted only the optimistic figures, downplaying any risks.
