Small businesses in Toronto and Vancouver are anticipating delivery delays rather than a revenue boost from the presence of the FIFA World Cup in town.
Seventy-two percent of businesses do not expect the event to affect revenue. Eleven percent expect revenue to dip while just 9 percent anticipate a boost.
The pessimistic outlook comes off the back of small businesses seeing low demand for 33 straight months, per the latest edition of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business’ Monthly Business Barometer.
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“Small businesses want the World Cup to succeed, but one international tournament can’t erase nearly three years of weak consumer demand,” said Kalith Nanayakkara, CFIB’s senior policy analyst for British Columbia, in a statement. “Many consumers are already financially stretched, and higher event-related spending on things like tickets can leave less money available for local shops and restaurants.”
Nanayakkara added that while some businesses benefit from the short-term opportunities generated by big events, everyday concerns like high taxes, operating costs, and red tape are the factors governments must tackle. More businesses are closing than they are launching in the face of economic volatility and continuously rising expenses.
“Small businesses would have preferred that this World Cup bring a much-needed boost in sales after a prolonged period of poor demand,” said Joseph Falzata, CFIB’s policy analyst for Ontario. “Unfortunately, the reality is that for many small businesses, this tournament will likely be marked by traffic jams and delayed deliveries, rather than new customers.”
The FIFA World Cup starts in Canada tomorrow June 12. It is the first time the country has hosted the event.
Four matches from the event will be held in Vancouver, while six will take place in Toronto. The CBRE Hotels Canada Industry 2026 Outlook report, which was released last November 2025, forecasted that the tournament will bolster local tourism.
Last month, Aird Berlis’ Peter Peter Czegledy and Daniel Kim discussed some of the legal challenges facing marketing teams as they try to capitalize on the event, which includes ambush marketing. They noted that Canada has not implemented event-specific anti-ambush marketing legislation for the World Cup; thus, intellectual property protection will hinge on existing trademark, copyright, competition, border-enforcement and municipal tools.