The minister in charge of both tourism and sports gave a shout out to the City of Maple Ridge for its FIFA World Cup soccer viewing events.
Anne Kang, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport, was at the city’s Game On 2026 event in Memorial Peace Park on Thursday afternoon, June 18, for the critical game between Canada and Qatar. The province granted the city $80,000 to support its series of big screen watch parties, and Kang touts it as money well spent.
“The province understands that people feel prices at BC Place are out of reach, and so we’ve invested in 33 communities across British Columbia, and Maple Ridge is one of those communities,” she said. “We’re here celebrating together with the folks at Maple Ridge and the vicinity.”
She has been attending watch parties, and said “watching the World Cup is something else – it’s exhilarating, very exciting, and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone cheer.”
Kang like the interactive sports and activities kids can be part of in Memorial Peace Park, the “amazing” music, and the Team Canada spirit she saw.
“There’s so much to see and so much to do, so it is one of the most exciting ones I’ve seen,” she said of the Game On event.
The province’s price of hosting the World Cup has ballooned to as much as $729 million for seven games, which gives ammunition to government critics.
“Hosting seven soccer games is going to cost taxpayers nearly $1.2 million per minute of playtime,” said Carson Binda, B.C. director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “When the government is hiking taxes on families and borrowing billions, we can’t afford to spend hundreds of millions on cost overruns.”
Kang shoots back.
“It’s absolutely worthwhile,” she said.
“It’s not just the seven games,” she said, noting that BC Place’s modernizing to FIFA standards is a legacy, that will create more opportunities to host conferences, continuing hosting major concerts, and other events.
Kang cited a government economic impact projection there will be an additional $1 billion in visitor spending in the region over the next five years.
“The investment is not just for the seven games, or the 38 days of games, but the five years after that.”
“It’s about tourism, it’s about diversifying our trade, it’s about inviting and helping the world to see British Columbia on a global platform, where we are a good and safe and welcoming place for them to invest in,” she said.
She noted that Sports Illustrated rated Vancouver as the best host city in North America.
“I’m very proud to see that independent report,” said Kang.
The BC Conservative Party cited an Angus Reid poll from just prior to the start of the World Cup, finding 72 per cent in Metro Vancouver said hosting is not worth the cost to taxpayers.
“British Columbians are being told to celebrate while the bill keeps growing,” said Peter Milobar, Conservative critic for finance. “The NDP promised economic benefits. Instead, people are seeing road closures, disruptions, security costs approaching a quarter of a billion dollars, and local businesses warning about lost revenue.”
“While families are struggling to afford groceries, housing, and everyday essentials, the NDP government somehow always finds hundreds of millions of dollars for prestige projects and political photo opportunities,” he added.
Kang helped Mayor Dan Ruimy open the viewing party, had some souvenir balls to give away, and then was headed for the Langley viewing party in the contest between Mexico and Korea.