B.C.’s Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport claims that an estimate from the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) that Canada will spend just over $1 billion to host the FIFA World Cup this summer is based on old data.
Minister Anne Kang says the numbers also don’t take into account the positive offsetting of the revenues and recoveries.
Kang has promised the province would provide updated numbers this month, but would not say whether they would be higher or lower than those released last year.
“But what I could say is that we have been working very diligently,” said Kang.
“It takes time and careful planning to make sure that such a big event is a safe and enjoyable event, not only for British Columbians, but for tourists from all over the world to come and visit and enjoy.”
She says the provincial economy should see a big boost for years to come.
“This is not just a one-time investment on the seven games that we have here, but it is a long-term investment,” Kang said.
“This also goes hand in hand with the tourism sector action plan that we have rolled out. In the next five years, we’ll be able to see more than 1 million more visitors come and more than $1 billion of visitor spending here.”
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Kang says the province is committed to being transparent about the estimated costs of hosting the World Cup.
“The numbers that were released is the numbers that the PBO is using… It’s not a complete account of the story that we’re trying to tell,” she said.
“We have committed to an updated annual update, and so that’s what we are doing.”
A Leger poll in March suggested that 74 per cent of those surveyed support hosting World Cup matches, while 65 per cent said they were concerned about the use of taxpayer funds and government spending.
The feds say the numbers are in line with previous hosting costs. Meanwhile, critics like the Canadian Taxpayers Federation say FIFA is leaving Canadians with a massive bill without any guarantee of economic gain.
—With files from Sonia Aslam and The Canadian Press