Majority don’t want local governments paying to bring major sporting events to their city: poll

A majority of people in four major Canadian cities say they don’t want local governments to pony up money to bring major sporting events to their cities.

A poll conducted by Maru Public Opinion exclusively for CityNews found almost two-thirds of those surveyed in Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver do not want their elected officials competing for or helping to fund sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics.

The strongest no sentiment comes from Toronto with 63 per cent against followed by Calgary and Edmonton with 62 per cent giving a thumbs down and 61 per cent of those in Vancouver not in favour.

Toronto and Vancouver are set to be host cities for the FIFA World Cup in 2026 and both cities say costs have more than doubled to stage the event since their participation was initially announced.

In 2018, just over 56 per cent of Calgarians voted against making a bid for the 2026 Olympics but less than two years ago, the provincial government indicated it was “open” to hosting the 2030 Winter Games.

The poll also found that football and hockey fans in Vancouver and Edmonton strongly believe their teams will win their respective league championships.

While it’s not unexpected that sports fans in each of the four cities are high on their teams, 81 per cent of Vancouverites back the B.C. Lions to win the Grey Cup. Vancouver is scheduled to play host to the title game this fall.

Excluding the hometown teams, eight per cent of CFL fans in Calgary back the Saskatchewan Roughriders with five per cent of Edmonton fans supporting the Green Riders. Hamilton, Winnipeg and B.C. grabbed four per cent of support from Toronto fans while three per cent of Vancouver fans chose Toronto, Calgary, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg.

When it comes to the Stanley Cup, sports fans in each of the four cities were extremely loyal to their home teams with 84 per cent of Edmonton fans backing the Oilers to bring Lord Stanley’s chalice back to the former ‘City of Champions’. Last season, the Oilers went all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final before losing to the Florida Panthers.

Eighty-one per cent of Vancouver fans chose the Canucks to win the Stanley Cup with 79 per cent of Toronto fans believing this is the year the Maple Leafs will end the 57-year championship drought.

While 69 per cent of Calgary fans chose the Flames to win the Stanley Cup, 15 per cent picked the rival Oilers. It was the highest non-home team selection by any of the four fan groups, according to the poll. Only two per cent of Edmonton fans felt the same way about the Flames.

Eight per cent of Toronto fans chose the rival Montreal Canadians to win the Cup while Toronto and Montreal each garnered four per cent of support from Edmonton fans. Seven per cent of Vancouver fans opted for the Oilers.

The poll was conducted between August 29 and September 6, 2024, among a random selection of 1,801 Canadian adults who are Unlock Surveys online panellists. Respondents were surveyed within the specific cities of Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary. The poll has an estimated margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.