Canadians greet World Cup with unease amid Trump tensions

Canadian fans are approaching the 2026 World Cup with unease rather than easy celebration, even as the tournament is set to span 48 countries, 104 games and 16 cities across Canada, Mexico and the United States. Canada will host 13 matches in Toronto and Vancouver, but the political mood around the co-hosted event is already complicating what was meant to be a showcase of North American unity.

In Toronto, that tension showed up in the details as much as the talking points: one supporter wore a red cowboy hat and maple leaf face paint, a look that captured the patriotic glow surrounding the tournament and the strain now hanging over it. Fans said Donald Trump’s threats to make Canada the 51st state, his comments on trade and his repeated jabs at Prime Minister Mark Carney have soured the atmosphere. One woman said she did not feel the United States was a good example of bringing people together right now.

For some Canadians, that souring has changed behavior. One fan said he would not make the trip south at all for matches in the United States, while a Mexican-Canadian supporter urged people to set tensions aside for the tournament and focus on the soccer. That divide matters because the World Cup’s economic payoff depends on movement across the border, hotel bookings and stadium attendance, not just television audiences. If politics keeps Canadian supporters from traveling to U.S. venues, the promised boost for host cities could be narrower than officials want.

The sentiment is backed by polling and travel data that point to a deeper shift in cross-border attitudes. An Abacus Data poll this month found 80% of Canadians think the United States is on the wrong track. A Nanos survey found 53% believe boycotting U.S. goods and avoiding U.S. travel has helped strengthen Canada’s position with the United States. Statistics Canada said Canadian-resident trips to the United States totaled 39 million in 2024, equal to 75% of all Canadian-resident travel abroad, yet return trips from the United States rose 9.5% in May 2026 from a year earlier, only the second year-over-year increase since December 2024.

Canada’s government has cast the tournament as a major economic opportunity, saying it will run from June 11 to July 19, 2026, and will be the biggest in FIFA history. Toronto Stadium will host Canada’s opening match against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 12, followed by group games against Qatar on June 18 and Switzerland on June 24 in Vancouver. But the widening gap between sporting ambition and political reality suggests that, for many Canadians, even a World Cup now arrives as a test of national mood and diplomatic strain.