Bob Mackin
Adam Van Koeverden (right) with Prime Minister Mark Carney and the FIFA World Cup trophy. (IG: Van Koeverden)
I understand that today you’re meeting with various officials locally who are involved in the organization for FIFA World Cup locally.
Met with local FIFA officials. Went to the stadium, met with the province, the city, Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations, host nations, and it’s been a really productive day. It’s great.
We’re 18 weeks from the kickoff of the tournament, and 12 weeks from the FIFA Congress, which is here in Vancouver. Where is the project, as you see it? What was discussed today, are there any concerns? What was the outcome of your discussion with the province, with the city and with the First Nations?
It’s been a really productive day. Like I said, the project is on schedule. The stadium is looking great. Some amazing improvements, including some accessibility upgrades, which doubles the number of elevators, vastly increasing the accessibility of the venue for decades to come, also making it more appealing from a business perspective for conferences and a lot of the things that it’s used for outside of sports hosting. But the player experience is also enhanced with new turf, upgraded grass, which is actually — it’s a pretty cool story — it’s grown locally in Chilliwack, at the sod farm in British Columbia, that’s producing some pretty technically impressive pitch for for the stadium itself.
Meetings with the city, with the host organizing committee, FIFA Vancouver, the host First Nations and the province were all really great. Also went down to the venue for the congress, the convention centre, and had lunch. All in all, a very productive day and reassuring that the entire project is on schedule and going to be a great success for Vancouver.
Certainly, the same will be true out in Toronto as we host 13 matches of the biggest sporting event of 2026.
Secretary of State for Sport Adam Van Koeverden (kneeling, second from right) at B.C. Place Stadium on Jan. 31. He met with Liberal MPs Parm Bains and Wade Grant, B.C. NDP cabinet members Ravi Kahlon, Anne Kang and Terry Yung, Vancouver FIFA host committee head Jessie Adcock, B.C. Pavilion Corp. CEO Ken Cretney and B.C. Place general manager Chris May. (X/Kahlon)
What about budget questions? The federal funding envelope was increased by $100 million in the November budget. I understand locally, the City of Vancouver and the Province [of British Columbia] were hoping that there would be more there for federal support. Where is that? Were those some of the questions that you were asked, and will there be any more federal funding for the project here in Vancouver, for all the federal issues, including security?
Yeah, I’m glad you referenced the incremental $100 million that the federal government has invested in FIFA, primarily on the security side, to ensure that it’s a safe and welcoming secure event for all spectators and participants. That was, as you said, in budget 2025, and it brought the federal government’s contribution to the 13 FIFA matches up to about $320 million and this is, as you said, as you stated, to ensure that all federal security agencies, from the RCMP and CBSA, make sure our airports have surge capacity right across the board, so that we are producing an event which is safe and welcoming and secure for all participants and the spectators, as well as the entourage that come with the athletes , the players too, right?
We’ve discussed lots of aspects of the delivery of these games with our partners, and conversations are ongoing about what the finishing touches will require.
Will those finishing touches require a top-up of that funding envelope?
Well, like I said, $100 million in budget 2025, was allocated for security and some additional, celebration type initiatives, and confident that this incremental $100 million will meet those needs.
You’re on your way to Milan Cortina to handle the Olympic responsibilities of the ministry. One of the responsibilities of the ministry in the past couple years has been the Future of Sport in Canada Commission. The interim report came out last summer, and one of the key recommendations was the independent centralized sport entity [a new agency to oversee sports funding, governance reform and anti-abuse programs]. So I wanted to find out, when is the final report coming from the Commission, and what is the status of the independent centralized sport entity? Is that going to happen?
As Canada’s largest investor in high performance sport, Sport Canada is proud to support our 209, I believe, Olympic athletes heading over to Milano Cortina to compete, so I’ll be there to cheer on Team Canada and to work with the Canadian Olympic Committee and meet with sporting officials from around the world. As Secretary of State for Sport, I have had a couple of follow up meetings with the Future of Sport in Canada Commission. Received very, very encouraging updates from Justice [Lise] Maisonneuve, who’s doing an extraordinary job. I’m confident that the final report will be delivered late winter, early spring of this year. And I, like you, have read the preliminary recommendations, and I’m looking forward to taking steps to make sure that Canada continues to have a safe and welcoming and well-funded sport system from coast-to-coast-to-coast.
Is the independent, centralized sport entity coming this year?
Adam van Koeverden (left) with B.C. NDP Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon. Both members of Canada’s Beijing 2008 Olympic team: van Koeverden in canoe-kayak, Kahlon in field hockey. (X/Kahlon)
So that is one of the recommendations of the preliminary report, and I’ll be waiting for the final report, to discuss with the sport system what measures will need to be undertaken to ensure that we have that sport system that we all want.
And as Secretary of State for Sport, is there a concern within the Canadian sports system of the rise of sports gambling and the dependency, especially major media outlets, for sports gambling and gambling advertising, as well as just the potential adverse effects of sports gambling, whether it might be addiction for teenagers and young adults, as well as the worries about match fixing. Is that something that that your ministry is going to be looking at this year to do something about?
The legalization and regulation of gambling is not a core responsibility of Sport Canada, but I’ll say that, as a sports fan and someone who cares deeply about the health and well-being of young people, I want to make sure that all the rules of government, including those who sell advertising and those who regulate gambling sectors, like the provinces in our country, are undertaking measures to ensure that it’s a safe environment for all. But like I said, Sport Canada is not the agency that would regulate any type of gambling. It’s treated from a legal perspective.
Since Prime Minister Carney’s buzzword is build and you’re going to the Olympics, what about bid — another word that starts with B? Is Canada going to look at another bid for a Winter or Summer Olympics… Is that something that there any talks about? [Vancouver was an early frontrunner for the 2030 Winter Olympics until the NDP cabinet decided in October 2022 against funding the project.]
Well, Canada is the best sport host nation in the world. We’ve got a lot on the go for 2026 including a Rugby World Cup [sevens] here in Vancouver, the Arctic Winter Games up in Whitehorse, Yukon, we’re also hosting the UCI World Cycling Championships in Montreal. And FIFA 13 games is not an insignificant undertaking. So we want to continue to, build on the fact and showcase Canada as the best host nation in the world, and Olympic bids, and Pan Am bids, and those sorts of things are led by the Canadian Olympic Committee, not by Sport Canada.
But there aren’t any talks right now, about a bid that they’ve approached you about?
You’d need to talk to the Canadian Olympic Committee about any interest of upcoming bids.
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Bob Mackin
Canada’s Secretary of State for Sport
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