World Cup match days kicked up spending in Toronto and Vancouver: Visa data

TSN says there were more than 30 million unique viewers, which works out to roughly 75 per cent of Canada’s population.

TORONTO — New Visa data suggests the FIFA World Cup brought a rise in spending among consumers in Canadian host cities.

The credit card company says match day spending rose as much as 24.6 per cent in Toronto and 12.7 per cent in Vancouver, when compared with the same days a year ago.

Toronto saw the largest game day increase in spending when Germany took on Ivory Coast on June 20, while Vancouver’s peak came when Australia faced Turkiye on June 13.

When Canada played Qatar in a group-stage match in Vancouver on June 18, there was a 4.9 per cent increase in spending in the city.

Vancouver and Toronto hosted a collective 13 games during the World Cup, which wrapped up last month.

Data previously released by payment processing company Moneris suggested Toronto saw a modest boost in spending during the first weeks of the tournament but found it paled in comparison to spending during Taylor Swift’s Eras tour concerts in the city.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 4, 2026.

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press