In theory, Montreal would have been an ideal city to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The city has an excellent public transit system, culturally diverse population, and rich sporting culture that includes the beloved Montreal Canadiens, the 1976 Olympics and the annual Formula 1 race.
Yet in 2021, the city withdrew its candidacy to become a World Cup host city, citing a lack of support from the province. Ultimately, Toronto and Vancouver were chosen to host 13 games.
Now, in the face of the tournament’s high costs and uncertain returns, some are saying that Montreal’s decision looks wise.
“[Montreal is] certainly right to not just be vindicated, but to even have an element of schadenfreude right now,” said Moshe Lander, an economist with Concordia University who noted the city has a terrible track record with hosting major sporting events.
“[They can] look at Vancouver and Toronto and say, ‘Glad we’re not you.’”
Stadium struggles
Every four years, the sporting body FIFA chooses a World Cup host country or countries.
It then picks potential host cities based on factors such as their stadium and transportation infrastructure, hospitality industry and estimated revenue generating capacity.
After Canada was selected to be one of the 2026 host countries in 2018, Montreal initially submitted a bid to host. But the province backed out in January 2021, and the city followed suit that July.
Caroline Proulx, the province’s then-tourism minister, said that the expected costs for Quebec to host had doubled from $50 million to $103 million in three years. The province also said it was not willing to further upgrade the Olympic Stadium, which is currently undergoing roof renovations projected to cost $870 million.
For Lander, the Olympic Stadium — which last had a tenant in 2004 — serves as a sobering reminder of the costs incurred to host major sporting events.
“The Olympic Stadium should have long ago been ripped down, especially once the Expos left town [in 2004],” he said, referring to the city’s loss of their Major League Baseball team. “There’s no tenant there, there’s no reason for it to exist,” he said.
“[But] once you build it, you’ve got to keep it.”
To comply with FIFA’s stadium regulations, Vancouver spent $196 million renovating BC Place, while Toronto spent $146 million to upgrade BMO Field.
Contract concerns
Another reason Montreal chose to rescind its bid was over worries FIFA would have too much control over the city during the World Cup.
A Radio-Canada investigation into FIFA’s contract terms found Montreal would have had to grant access to the city’s Old Port and Parc Jean-Drapeau from May 22 to July 17, 2026.
Sporting events like the F1 Canadian Grand Prix and the Montreal Triathlon, along with the Jazz Festival and Francos de Montréal music festivals, would have been impacted, according to the investigation.
“I think that Montreal probably recognized that the benefits were limited, especially because Montreal is a very hot tourist destination in the summer,” said Lander.
“If you’re not building new hotels, then any soccer hooligan that’s coming in is merely pushing out an F1 fan or a Jazz Festival fan.”
FIFA’s contracts with governments have long been singled out for criticism due to their notoriously strict conditions. FIFA does not help fund the costs of hosting the World Cup, and also retains the vast majority of revenue generated from the tournament. Host cities are able to keep revenue from the FIFA Fan Fests they host.
In Vancouver, the Vancouver Jazz Festival and the Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival were altered to accommodate FIFA’s contract terms. In Toronto, major events such as Toronto Pride and the Toronto Fringe Festival are going ahead — although only after receiving approval from FIFA.
Economic generators?
The economic benefits of hosting global sporting events have been a consistent source of debate for decades.
A recent Parliamentary Budget Officer report put the average cost to taxpayers per World Cup game at about $82 million.
Carson Binda, the B.C. director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation advocacy organization, says the costs are not worth it.
“We can’t be affording to give international sporting bodies … a blank cheque with taxpayer dollars,” he said.
Toronto and Vancouver — which are each spending between $300 and $400 million to host the games — are hoping they will generate tourist booms. But these have yet to materialize.
In May, the marketing agency Destination Vancouver projected hotel bookings for June would actually be down by about 20 per cent compared to the prior year.
However, Vancouver City Councillor Mike Klassen is taking a longer view.
“A lot of people are absolutely blown away by Vancouver and saying, ‘How can I continue to be a part of this? How can I come back and be a part of the experience of living and working and running a business in Vancouver?’,” Klassen said in an interview with Canadian Affairs a week into the tournament.
He also points to other major events like the 2010 Winter Olympics and Expo ‘86 that helped shape the city and wider region.
“They were huge economic generators for our region and led to, in some cases, pretty significant infrastructure investment. We had highways and rapid transit as big legacies of 2010,” Klassen said.
Lander says politicians struggle to clearly evaluate the benefits.
“If you’ve listened to the mayor of Vancouver, he’s clearly out to lunch when it comes to being able to judge clearly what is the benefit and cost of hosting the World Cup,” he said.
In a statement to Canadian Affairs, Quebec’s Ministry of Tourism indicated it stands behind its decision to pull out of the World Cup.
“The government has a role to play to attract large touristic events, but it also has a duty to ensure that benefits will outweigh the investments,” the emailed statement read.
“Our government took a responsible decision regarding the management of public funds and with the benefit of hindsight, that decision was the right one.”
Binda, of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, also believes Montreal and Quebec made the right call.
“I think any responsible government would take a look at those kind of agreements [with FIFA] and say, ‘This isn’t right.’”
