BC's World Cup Security Budget Soars

0:00It's April 3rd. You're listening to Canada News today, AI-powered local news. I'm Cory with the story. British Columbia is racing to lock down a security budget for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with just two months until kickoff in Vancouver. Costs have exploded from $240 million back in 2022 to 624 million now, split across government. Levels. Premier David E. by Hit Ottawa with a yellow card this week saying they promised partnership but haven't sent the cash yet. Vancouver police are teaming up with the RCMP and border agents for major deployments, including housing tons of extra officers. Evie couldn't drop a final number yet, but plans are wrapping up soon. His public safety minister just pushed the feds in Ottawa last week for that funding. Folks are feeling the pinch across North America, with inflation and bigger crowds driving up security. The biggest expense everywhere. Toronto's looking at $93.7 million just for safety on its six games, offsetting some with

1:02taxes and fees, Ontario chipped in $14 million for provincial police, feds fired back, pointing to $100 million added in their 2025 budget for RCMP and others, plus $220 million. Originally, for the bids, all host cities are scaling plans, but Vancouver and Toronto stick to big fanzones. A former RCMP boss from Vancouver's 2010 Olympics, Warren housing officers, could eat the most cash, like it did back then with cruise ships and premium rents. Organizers promise a fiscal update this spring, and FIFA touts huge payoffs, $3.8 billion in economic booze for Canada, including $2 billion in GDP and over 24,000 jobs, with reps on the line, expect those checks to clear soon.