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It is still unclear how much policing and security will cost for the FIFA World Cup games in Vancouver.
There are only 45 days left before the huge sporting event comes to the city.
The B.C. government last provided an update on the security budget almost a year ago and that estimate was $345 million.
Dave Jones, Vancouver’s head of safety and security for FIFA, said that while the tournament is underway, there will be more police in the city than ever before, including officers from forces across Canada.
“Estimates at this point look at … the simple hosting of this, which has a television audience of up to 19 billion overall views,” he said.
“That alone shows you the significance. And planning purposes and discussion right now indicates that the number of policing and security resources that will be deployed on match days will exceed any other deployments that have occurred.”
Jones said the Vancouver police will take the lead for the event as a whole, but if people remember the 2010 Olympic Games, the city might have a similar feel to that when it comes to security and excitement.
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“There are specialized units that you’re looking at to bring in an event such as this,” Jones said.
“So when you look for resources and planning, you know, the VPD have the lead, the RCMP are the provincial police force and support any requests in the initial instance. And, you know, as has been seen with other major events that have occurred in this country, agencies may need to look outside of both the region or the province to bring in specialized resources at this point.”
The City of Vancouver has already announced significant road closures on match days, but Jones said the goal is to ensure that people coming to the stadium are safe and that pedestrian and vehicle traffic is managed.
He added that as far as he knows, no businesses around BC Place are being asked to close on match days.
“So the people doing the traffic management planning and that around have been very conscious of it,” he said.
“Obviously, there’s a potential for impact where vehicles might not on a match day get access, but certainly the majority of roads and roadways and pathways are open to pedestrian traffic.”
Jones said there will also be security at the two training sites and where the teams are staying.
“The primary focus is, remember, is the safety, not only of those players and participants coming, but of the general public and an increase in tourism that comes to the region,” he added.
“So our focus is on making the event safe, the areas around the event safe, and those increases mainly focus on those types of venues.”
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
