Taxpayers now know how much the provincial government says it will cost to provide safety and security during the seven FIFA World Cup 2026 matches scheduled to be played this summer at BC Place Stadium.

Provincial cabinet ministers Anne Kang and Ravi Kahlon told reporters at a May 29 news conference that the tab will be $242 million. But how that cost breaks down is not something government officials are willing to provide until after the Vancouver portion of the international tournament is over.

In contrast, the City of Toronto has posted budget documents on its website that break down safety and security costs to cover six matches of the World Cup, including Team Canada’s first game June 12 against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The costs are as follows:

• Toronto Police Service, $58.5 million

• Toronto Paramedic Services, $10.7 million

• Toronto Emergency Management, $5.2 million

• Toronto Fire Services, $3.5 million

Police previously spent $5 million, paramedics $1.5 million and emergency management $2 million in planning costs, according to the FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto operating budget estimates.

Add those numbers up and the safety and security costs for Toronto are close to $87 million. At the same time, Toronto has a police force of more than 5,600 officers, while Vancouver’s is closer to 1,500.

That disparity means Vancouver’s FIFA safety and security budget will include paying officers from the RCMP, and police departments from Calgary, Edmonton, Delta and Metro Vancouver transit to supplement the VPD during the tournament.

So whether it’s a fair comparison to put Vancouver’s $242 million up against Toronto’s $87 million—without understanding the approach, planning costs in Vancouver and nuances to both cities, including hosting one less game in Toronto—is still an open question.

Integrated Safety and Security Unit

But what the people in charge of overseeing the Integrated Safety and Security Unit (ISSU) in Vancouver say is that every dollar planned to be spent has been done to provide a “fiscally responsible” plan that keeps people safe during the tournament.

Dave Jones, a former chief of the New Westminster Police Service and Metro Vancouver Transit Police, is working with Vancouver Deputy Police Chief Don Chapman, and Lisa Sweet, the former assistant deputy minister in charge of corrections for British Columbia.

The trio are co-leads of the ISSU, which is an organization tasked with co-ordinating all emergency services personnel during the tournament; the seven Vancouver matches run from June 13 to July 7.

Business in Vancouver recently spoke to Jones and Chapman at the Vancouver police department’s Graveley Street precinct to learn more about how the unit has prepared a plan for the tournament.

“There’s a lot of effort to make sure that costs are appropriate to what is needed, that they are within scope of what is required to deliver it,” Jones said.

“In all honesty, there isn’t a person in this dialogue who doesn’t understand the public pressures and the financial situation that the province, city and country finds itself in right now.”

Seattle hosting six matches

How many officers will be deployed during the games is not a number Jones and Chapman could provide, noting the variables of teams playing, fan bases, match times and unpredictable situations that may increase or reduce staffing.

That uncertainty also depends on fans coming from Washington state—Seattle is hosting six World Cup matches—and other local cities and provinces on game days. The Vancouver International Airport is expected to be busy during the tournament.

ISSU is working with the Vancouver Airport Authority and Canada Border Services Agency to assist with getting a handle on the influx of fans and visitors to Vancouver, including world leaders, who will require a police motorcade.

Tracking incoming flights and where ticket sales originated are part of the planning intelligence gathering, as are researching fan supporter clubs that may or may not have a history of hooliganism.

Meetings with consul generals have also occurred.

“We’ll have a set number of officers working at a game, throughout the city and all the spin-off locations,” said Chapman, describing the fluidity of deployment as peaks and valleys.

“Then we’re going to see that slide down into a valley where it’s going to get less busy. Then we’re going to have a couple of days where nothing’s going on, and all of a sudden now we’re building back up to another game.”

200 surveillance cameras

There will be a heavy police presence in and around BC Place Stadium, the downtown Granville Street strip, the training venues at the University of B.C. and Killarney Park, as well as the FIFA Fan Festival on the PNE grounds.

The nuance to the police deployment at the stadium is that FIFA has rented the facility for the seven matches and will employ its own security, which will work with police during the games.

About 200 surveillance cameras have gone up around the stadium and other parts of Vancouver, including Commercial Drive and the training sites. The cameras will be removed once the tournament is over, Jones said

There will be road closures and fencing around the spectator route in the area that includes Science World on match days. An estimated 350,000 spectators are expected over the seven matches, with an extra 1.5 million people to visit Metro Vancouver during the tournament.

Beyond the stadium, the FIFA Fan Festival opens June 11 and officials are predicting up to 25,000 visitors at any given time over 28 days of programming, live matches, music and cultural experiences.

Bars and restaurants throughout the city are expected to be busy on match days.

Stanley Cup Riot of 2011

Both Jones and Chapman are keenly aware of how Vancouver has experienced mayhem and tragedy at previous public events, including the 2011 Stanley Cup Riot and the more recent Lapu Lapu Day tragedy, where 11 people were killed when a man drove an SUV through a crowd at the festival.

The independent review of the riot identified how alcohol was a major factor in fuelling the chaos on the night the Vancouver Canucks lost to the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals.

Chapman said having control of a venue is key to preventing a riot. In other words, having a large screen set up downtown to allow thousands of people to flood into downtown to watch is not a best practice.

“What happened with the Stanley Cup Riot was that it was decided, ‘Let’s put a massive screen up in a parking lot, and we think only 5,000 people are going to come,’ and 100,000 people showed up,” said Chapman, whose previous role at the VPD included him ensuring such mayhem didn’t occur during the Canucks playoff run in 2024.

Rogers Arena and Oak Meadows Park were used as viewing sites in 2024. Community centres also showed the Canucks games, spreading out the fan base and allowing authorities and private security to control crowds, including those drinking alcohol at the venues.

Lapu Lapu Day tragedy

The Lapu Lapu Day tragedy has shifted how police now plan for events, with police and other emergency personnel recently conducting a large-scale training exercise at the PNE grounds that simulated a mass casualty incident involving a vehicle ramming a crowd.

Chapman provided an example of how prior to the tragedy, the Granville Entertainment District may have had a police car parked on the street and “very rudimentary wooden plank barriers” set up to block traffic.

“Now an area such as that really does require what we refer to as a meridian style heavy barrier and/or gated area just to protect the pedestrian population inside that zone,” he said. “So Lapu Lapu has changed that and the fact that, yes, we need that [barrier]. It’s now not a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have.”

Other parts of the city will see the use of the barriers and possibly City of Vancouver dump trucks as part of what police refer to as their “hostile vehicle mitigation plan.” Police equipped with rifles are also expected to be deployed around pedestrian zones.

Protests are likely, but at what scale and whether they are directly connected to FIFA are still unknown. For the past couple of years, protests in Vancouver have averaged 1,000 or more. Opening day of the 2010 Winter Olympics attracted a large protest outside the stadium.

“Let’s face it, the world’s media is going to be here, and there’ll be a stage—there’ll be cameras,” Chapman said. “So what better way to get whatever your message is out on an international forum, so I would anticipate some protests happening for sure.”

Terrorism threat level ‘medium’

Chapman said the threat level in Canada for terrorism continues to be “medium.”

“It hasn’t changed, and it hasn’t changed for FIFA,” he said. “Are we looking at it? Yes, we are looking at it. Is there any intelligence of any terrorism activity? No.”

Asked what message Jones and Chapman would share with those people apprehensive about going downtown or to FIFA Fan Festival for fear of a safety incident, Chapman said Vancouver—with the influx of more officers—will be an even safer city than it currently is.

Jones said four of his grandsons, who range in age from 12 to 17, will be going to some of the games at the stadium. He said he has “zero worry about what their safety is going to be like” and imparted that to his family.

“Just send them down, just drop them off at the SkyTrain and they can text you when they’re coming home,” he said. “They will be fine.”

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