In a rare appearance together, Toronto’s incumbent and former mayors — who have been at odds over the city’s multimillion-dollar controversial World Cup bid — said they want the city to bask in the moment now that it’s here.
“It isn’t, I guess, all that usual that you would have the sitting mayor interviewed by the preceding mayor,” said John Tory while hosting an early Friday morning radio segment on NEWSTALK 1010 with Olivia Chow as a guest.
“It’s not a time to go over … things we disagreed on. It’s maybe time to just talk a little bit about the city and we’re at a particular moment.”
Friday is Canada’s 2026 FIFA World Cup debut at Toronto Stadium, and the tournament is kicking off with Canada versus Bosnia-Herzegovina at 3 p.m.
“Are you excited about it now?” Tory said. “Because I know you weren’t always, let’s be honest, and I get that. I don’t take any of this stuff personally. It’s politics and it’s government and you make decisions and you live by them.”
Chow responded: “Look, I’m dressed in red and white. Go Team Canada! We are so ready. The city is looking great. The Fan Fest, I was there yesterday, whoa the energy level was so high.
“We are just excited,” Chow continued.
Toronto plans to spend $380 million on the World Cup with the federal and provincial governments picking up a little more than half of that bill.
Chow, who took office in 2023, has frequently — and generally — said she’s “inherited a financial mess.”
The World Cup deal was struck under Tory’s administration without securing funding commitments from higher levels of government, and since then issues around the World Cup budget have manifested in different ways.
This week, Toronto officials wouldn’t say whether it has filled a $5-million shortfall, as Chow faced criticism over one of the strategies to raise funds for the games: reselling highly sought-after match tickets at a profit. In Friday’s conversation, Tory commended Chow for the move, which he said helps keep the burden off property taxpayers.
The city also briefly considered charging admission to the Fan Festival, an event long billed as free for all residents, but in the wake of immediate backlash council voted it down.
For over a year, the city and province were also at odds over Queen’s Park’s $97 million contribution and how much of it will be given to Toronto in cash. The province initially said $39 million worth of provincial services would count toward its total contribution.
A recent survey by the Angus Reid Institute found most people in both Toronto and Vancouver don’t think hosting the matches are worth the public costs, despite promises of economic gain and putting the cities on the global stage.
“There’s no point in looking endlessly in the rear view mirror,” Tory said earlier in the segment.
“I just think it’s a day to celebrate on the one hand, but it’s also a day to be appropriately respectful,” he added, referring to Thursday’s fatal shooting of Toronto police officer Marc Pinizzotto.
