Toronto Can’t Afford Another Last-Minute Transit Mess for the 2026 World Cup

Toronto is about to host the world and if we’re not careful, we’ll also be hosting world-class gridlock.

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup set to arrive next June, city officials are now acknowledging what many Torontonians already fear: traffic levels downtown could rise by as much as 15 per cent during the tournament. That might sound manageable on paper, but anyone who has tried to cross the core on a normal weekday knows how fragile Toronto’s transportation system already is. Add tens of thousands of international soccer fans, road closures, construction pauses and security zones, and the risk of chaos becomes very real.

Six matches will be played at BMO Field between June and July, drawing supporters from countries like Germany, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire. This is a massive opportunity for Toronto’s global image and local economy. But it also places enormous pressure on infrastructure that struggles even without a mega-event.

City modelling shows a 10 to 15 per cent spike in traffic on key downtown corridors, with the worst congestion expected during Toronto’s Round of 32 knockout match. The city says it’s refining those projections and will present a traffic management plan in March just three months before kickoff.

That timeline should concern everyone.

March may technically satisfy FIFA’s requirements, but it leaves little room for scrutiny, debate or meaningful improvements. Councillor Josh Matlow is right to call this out as last-minute planning. Toronto has a long history of underestimating crowd movement, overestimating transit capacity and reacting only after things go wrong. We’ve seen this movie before, and the ending is never good.

The plan, as outlined so far, includes limiting downtown parking, potentially closing highway on- and off-ramps near the stadium, and creating special traffic corridors with signal priority on match days. All of this may be necessary but without early public discussion and transparent planning, these measures could easily backfire, shifting congestion into residential neighbourhoods or paralyzing nearby arterial roads.

Even more troubling is the uncertainty around construction. Documents reveal ongoing discussions between the city, the province and FIFA about pausing major infrastructure projects during the tournament. The city has said it would suspend work that directly affects key routes between hotels, the stadium, practice facilities and the airport. That could include parts of the Ontario Line, Ontario Place and even the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension.

These are not minor projects. Pausing them for weeks has cost implications, labour implications and political implications and yet, no clear decisions have been communicated. The province, meanwhile, is pointing back to the city, saying the final call hasn’t been made.

This lack of clarity is exactly the problem.

Concerns have only intensified after the recent chaos following the Toronto Blue Jays’ Game 7 loss, when transit service was insufficient and public communication broke down. Thousands of fans were left scrambling to get home. If that can happen after a single baseball game, what happens during a month-long global tournament?

The World Cup is not just about soccer. It’s a stress test of Toronto’s ability to plan, coordinate and communicate. That means extending transit service reliably, aligning the TTC, Metrolinx and city messaging, and preparing for worst-case scenarios not just ideal ones.

Toronto has a chance to shine on the world stage. But if planning remains reactive, opaque and rushed, the city risks becoming a cautionary tale instead of a success story. The world is coming. The question is whether Toronto will be ready or stuck in traffic.