Vancouver housing, climate should be priority, not FIFA, says city councillor

Excitement may be building as Vancouver and Toronto look ahead to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but the tournament is also raising concerns.

Vancouverites are continuing to struggle with affordability challenges, with costs, housing prices, and rents continuing to rise.

With early estimates suggesting the cost of planning, staging, and hosting matches in Vancouver will range between $240 million and $260 million, City Councillor Jean Swanson wonders if that money wouldn’t be put to better use elsewhere.

“To me the issue is we could solve big problems. If it costs $200 million for FIFA, for $200 million we could build a lot of housing for people who are homeless. For $200 million, we could probably meet the city’s climate goals to reduce greenhouse gases to 50 per cent by 2030,” she told CityNews.

“It seems to me like there’s way better ways to spend that money, that’s the big issue that I have.”

Vancouver and Toronto were named the Canadian host cities on Thursday. The 2026 World Cup will also be played in Mexico and the U.S.

Matches in Vancouver will be played at BC Place, while BMO Field will be the venue in Toronto. Both arenas are in need of major upgrades to meet FIFA standards.

B.C. Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, and Sport Melanie Mark has previously said B.C. is “ready to welcome the world” and that as minister, her duty is to be a good “steward of the public purse.”

“When the economy’s thriving, we have more resources to invest in housing and infrastructure — which my colleagues are already doing. I recognize that people may see this as a lot of money up front. We’re getting estimates of $240 million to $260 million. But we’re also hearing from Destination BC, B.C.’s Crown agency, and BC Stats, that we could be generating $1 billion,” Mark said, prior to Vancouver officially being named a host city.

However, Swanson believes spending priorities should be elsewhere, on the crises Vancouver is currently facing.

“We could end homelessness or get a good start on it. We could do a lot for the climate. We’re not on track to meet our climate goals but if we had more money we could. And I just think if we’re in a crisis, like a homeless crisis and a climate crisis, than that’s where our priorities should be in terms of spending money,” explained Swanson.

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How this global event will affect local real estate is also a concern.

“It may be that hosting these big events does increase land prices and rents,” Swanson said, recalling the months prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

“A lot of the ads at the airport, almost all of them were real estate ads — realtors trying to sell property to people coming to the Olympics from out of town. So yeah, I think it’s a danger, it’s a danger of these big events,” she said.

Many Vancouverites have also expressed concern about the potential increases to rents and property prices that may come as the World Cup approaches.

A total of 80 games will be divvied up between Canada, the U.S., and Mexico for the 2026 tournament. It is expected that the United States will get most of the matches.

The province calls this opportunity one that is “once-in-a-generation.” Premier John Horgan has also said B.C. isn’t hosting games “just for kicks.”

“British Columbians will enjoy an economic boost to the tourism and hospitality sectors that will be felt for years to come. We look forward to welcoming the global soccer community to our province,” he said.

-With files from Robyn Crawford and Denise Wong