Overview
- Moneris card-transaction data for June 12–26 show debit and credit spending at Toronto restaurants and bars rose just 3 percent compared with the same period in 2025.
- Spending by foreign-issued cards jumped about 34 percent and hotel card spending rose roughly 18 percent, indicating tourists spent more even as overall gains stayed modest.
- The Parliamentary Budget Office estimates Canada’s total World Cup hosting cost at $1.066 billion, with Toronto shouldering about $380 million for six matches and Vancouver about $578 million for seven games.
- Former mayor David Miller and urban experts say FIFA and other event organizers capture most financial upside because host contracts shift costs and many tax benefits flow to provincial or federal governments rather than cities.
- The Moneris snapshot captures only card transactions over two weeks and misses cash and longer-term effects, so the city faces choices about how to account for public costs, build on transit and facility upgrades, and measure the tournament’s wider social legacy.