Nearly every officer on FIFA duty was 'callback' paid at time-and-a-half, says TPS
The Toronto Police Service (TPS) spent an estimated $43.5 million on overtime to staff the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a sum accumulated over roughly seven weeks, the Toronto Star reported.
According to records obtained through a freedom-of-information request, TPS estimated as of October that it had spent $43.5 million on "premium pay" for tournament operations between May 30 and July 19.
The Star reported that figure is equal to almost two-thirds of the roughly $70 million the force set aside for non-tournament premium pay for all of 2026.
'Could not divert officers'
TPS spokesperson Stephanie Sayer told the Star that "virtually all" officers assigned to the World Cup were callbacks, meaning they were brought in outside their regular shifts and paid at premium rates. Because of the size of the operation, which TPS has described as its largest-ever deployment, the service "could not divert officers from regular front-line policing duties to staff the tournament," she said.
Sayer said that staffing approach was approved before the tournament and built into the force's $56-million World Cup budget, of which just over $47 million was earmarked for salaries and deployments. Final figures won't be available until year end, but the force expects to come in on budget, she told the Star.
"Our responsibility was to ensure the safety and security of residents, visitors, players and everyone attending the tournament. The resources deployed reflected the scale and complexity of that responsibility, and the event concluded safely," Sayer said.
According to the Star, Sayer did not directly answer a question about what, if anything, the service did to limit overtime costs.
What officers were paid
Premium pay covers standard overtime, such as starting a shift early or staying late, as well as callbacks. Rates vary by rank and salary, but Sayer told the Star that a first-class constable typically earns about $59 an hour, which rises to about $88.50 an hour at time-and-a-half, "before any applicable allowances."
For comparison, the TPS website lists the rates it charges private customers who hire off-duty officers for "paid duty" work such as traffic control and event security. As of Jan. 1, 2025, those rates were $94.50 an hour for constables, $107.10 for sergeants in charge of four or more officers, and $117.60 for staff sergeants in charge of 10 or more officers, each with a three-hour minimum.
Ahead of the tournament, TPS also posted a notice to paid duty customers warning of a significant increase in requests for off-duty officers between June 11 and July 3. The service said requests in that window would be evaluated case by case with no guarantee they would be filled, and encouraged customers to look for alternatives because policing resources would be limited.
Security guard no-shows on opening weekend
Questions about the balance between police and private security surfaced early in the tournament. In June, the Toronto Sun reported that well over 100 guards employed by the city's private security contractor, Hamilton-based Star Security, failed to show up during the tournament's first weekend, which included Canada's opening match at Toronto Stadium on June 12.
Citing unnamed sources, the Sun reported that police stepped in to fill the gap at overtime rates and that the city brought in additional security firms.
"The city went with the lowest bidder and got what they paid for," an unnamed insider involved in FIFA planning told the Sun. Sources told the paper that many of the guards were young and paid around $20 an hour, with some positions advertised as low as $18.
Neither the city nor TPS confirmed significant overtime overruns tied to the shortfall. TPS told the Sun it adjusts its deployment "where necessary" and did so that weekend, but stressed it "did not alter its overall staffing plan."
Sharon Bollenbach, executive director of the city's World Cup secretariat, told the Sun the city was "not aware of any security cost overruns during the opening weekend" and had added staff after the first few days to improve entry times. Star Security did not respond to the Sun's request for comment.
The Sun's account of the no-shows relied on unnamed sources, and the reporting did not establish how much, if any, of the overtime later disclosed by the Star was linked to the guard shortfall.
History of overtime overruns
Toronto hosted six World Cup matches between June 12 and July 2 as one of 16 host cities across Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. The city's hosting budget was $380 million, with the city covering about half and the provincial and federal governments each committing about $100 million, according to the Star.
TPS tournament costs are being paid out of the city's World Cup budget. In April, Ottawa announced $145 million in additional security funding for Toronto and Vancouver, with $45 million earmarked for Toronto, the Star reported.
The World Cup figures land on a force that has struggled to contain premium pay. In 2024, TPS budgeted $59 million for premium pay and overspent by almost $40 million, according to the Star.
