Bob Mackin
How much will it cost B.C. taxpayers for FIFA World Cup 26 security and safety?
With 15-and-a-half months until the first of seven B.C. Place Stadium matches, none of the 18 members of the FWC26 Vancouver Integrated Safety and Security Unit (ISSU) would provide theBreaker.news with their current budget estimate or disclose how many of their personnel are assigned to the project.
Former New Westminster and Transit Police chief Dave Jones (LinkedIn)
The RCMP’s Lower Mainland public information officer was the most forthright. Sgt. Vanessa Munn said the Mounties have met regularly with the ISSU as part of their provincial policing responsibilities, “such as critical incident response, intelligence and event planning.”
But, Munn said, “a security budget has not been established and discussions are still underway around roles and responsibilities.”
ISSU’s joint leaders are City of Vancouver’s Dave Jones, assistant deputy minister of public safety Lisa Sweet and Vancouver Police Supt. Andrew Chan. Jones, the former New Westminster Police and Transit Police chief, did not respond. Chan declined to comment, instead referring theBreaker.news to Vancouver host committee’s Natasha Quereshniku, who refused to provide a current budget estimate.
Last April, the province announced the cost of being one of 16 cities in the U.S./Canada/Mexico co-hosted tournament could be as high as $581 million. That includes $88 million to $109 million for essential services such as provincial safety and security, transportation, emergency management and health services.
B.C. Place GM Chris May during a March 13 FIFA site tour (City of Vancouver/X)
City of Vancouver expects to spend at least $246 million on safety and security, team training sites, the FIFA Fan Festival at the PNE, decoration and brand protection, traffic and stadium zone management. The biggest line item of the original, 2023 city budget was $73 million for safety and security.
“Safety and security estimates will continue to evolve as key aspects of hosting are finalized, such as Fan Fest, training sites, outer security perimeter and road closures,” said the joint statement from four provincial ministries.
Quereshniku would not confirm whether security threats, such as drones and vehicular terrorism, have added to Vancouver’s costs.
Clarity could come as soon as March 4, when the NDP government unveils its 2025 provincial budget. However, that is the same day that U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to levy 25% tariffs on Canadian goods and 10% tariffs on Canadian energy exported to the U.S.
FIFA 26 will be the biggest event in Vancouver since the 2010 Winter Olympics, which cost $900 million for security.
FACT BOX: The full ISSU roster — BC Emergency Health Services; BC Pavilion Corporation; City of Vancouver Corporate Protective Services; E-Comm 911; FIFA World Cup 26 Vancouver Host Committee; Metro Vancouver Transit Police; Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness; Ministry of Health; Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General; Pacific National Exhibition; Provincial Health Services Authority; Health Emergency Management BC; Public Safety Canada Pacific Region; RCMP; Vancouver Coastal Health; Vancouver Emergency Management Agency; Vancouver Fire Rescue Service; Vancouver International Airport; Vancouver Police Department.
