What to know
- New polling from Angus Reid and Nextdoor found that 53 per cent of Toronto-area residents do not believe the city was prepared to host a major international event like the FIFA World Cup.
- Residents’ biggest concerns include costs to taxpayers (48 per cent), traffic delays (28 per cent), and safety and overcrowding (16 per cent). Additionally, 28 per cent believe hosting major events has a negative impact on the city.
- Despite public concerns, Mayor Olivia Chow said Toronto has “delivered” as a World Cup host, while the city’s chief of congestion reported traffic has remained manageable, with vehicle traffic around Toronto Stadium down 25 per cent.
- Similar concerns were found in Vancouver, where 49 per cent of residents said the city is unprepared for major international events, and more than half expressed concerns about taxpayer costs as World Cup hosting continues.
As Toronto Stadium makes way for its third FIFA World Cup match today, new data shows that over half of locals didn’t believe the city was prepared to host such a major event.
Among 1,503 Canadian adults surveyed by Angus Reid and Nextdoor, 53 per cent did not believe Toronto was ready to host major international events such as the FIFA World Cup.
Maya Kosofs with Nextdoor told Now Toronto that the polls conducted were focused on Canadian host cities, and shared that residents in Vancouver, despite being ranked number one to visit for the World Cup, felt the city was unprepared as well.
“What we see is this sort of balance between optimism and concern happens across cities,” she explained. “There’s strong support about hosting major international events like the World Cup, but it shifts depending on people’s proximity to those events.”
Kosofs also added that 28 per cent of poll recipients believed the city saw a negative impact when hosting these kinds of major international events.
When looking at the concerns, these numbers are higher.
“Forty-eight per cent of [Greater Toronto Area] residents are concerned about the cost to taxpayers,” Kosofs said. “Twenty-eight per cent are concerned about traffic delays, and 16 per cent are concerned about safety and overcrowding.”
Despite these concerns, Mayor Olivia Chow told reporters at a conference on Tuesday that the city “delivered” when it came to hosting World Cup games, and that it was off to a “strong” start.
On Friday, Toronto’s chief of congestion told reporters traffic has been “manageable” during the games, even claiming a 25 per cent drop in vehicular traffic around Toronto Stadium, as well as an increase in foot traffic and cycling in the area.
How it compares to Vancouver
When looking at the other Canadian host city, Vancouver residents also had similar concerns when it came to holding FIFA.
“Forty-nine per cent of the residents there, almost half, say that Vancouver is unprepared to manage international events,” Kosofs said. “[Similarly to Toronto], 56 per cent of Vancouverites are concerned about the cost of taxpayers, 17 per cent are concerned about traffic delays, and 15 per cent are concerned about rising costs for residents of the city.”
With Toronto’s next World Cup match, and first weekend game, set for Saturday, June 20, the pressure to perform well as a city is only likely to intensify.
