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Here in Toronto, several hotels throughout the city are now readjusting their booking. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is less than two months away. Seattle's hotels are hoping for an influx of people from around the world. All right, it's bad enough that Canada gets a louder cheer than Trump at stadiums across the United States. Oh Canada, our home and native. But, to go ahead and steal World Cup fans, man. Trump continues to get hit with bad news as we are just more than a month away from the 2026 World Cup, with Canada once again showing the president how it's done. The government says the changes are really designed to curb the influence of professional resellers who use those bots, those bulk buying tactics, automated systems to scoop up the tickets and then they relist them at those higher prices. We talked to people here in Toronto to see what they thought about this, and here's what they had to say. That's good news because I feel like a lot of fans miss out on opportunities because of that, and just prices being unaffordable. So I think that would have benefit. They're too expensive. I can't afford to go to any concerts right now. I'm not really considering buying tickets at this point because the prices are too high, first of all, set by the artists or by the sports teams. And then on top of that, the resale is just not worth it at that point. Like, I mean, if you cap the prices, what happens to, I don't know, like, would there be longer lineups or would it make the tickets more affordable for everyone? I don't really know what the ultimate impact would be. According to a report in Travel & Tour World, they are stating that Canada is emerging as a major tourism winner from the 2026 World Cup. As global travellers rethink North American travel plans and look for smoother, safer, less politically chaotic options. I mean, chaotic? What's chaotic about this? I don't understand how President Trump can continue to do favours to Vladimir Putin. He just let a Russian oligarch go through this blockade. Putin met with the foreign minister of Iran. Diplomatically speaking, he meets with heads of state. He doesn't meet with foreign ministers. He chose to have that meeting. I mean, these are countries that are helping each other and it's time, I think, for President Trump and his administration to understand that basic fact. Because right now, he makes him look weak. He makes him look like a fool. It's not like more than 120 civil society groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, have issued an actual travel advisory for people coming to the United States for the World Cup. Have they? Oh, that's right, they've warned visitors they could face things like arbitrary denial of entry, detention or deportation, searches of personal devices, and even quote, inhumane treatment in detention. Yeah, that is not exactly a welcome mat. It's something you usually hear before travelling to a conflict zone, not the so-called leading country of the free world. In sport, in just a few weeks, the United States and Canada will be among those to welcome the world as hosts of the FIFA World Cup. So in one sense, Mr. President, as heads of state, we are joint hosts. We call this game, by the way, football, Mr. President. And I can only say, as the head of state of five competing countries, I will be watching the matches closely with great enthusiasm. After all, we always like favourable odds. But here's another area that people haven't been discussing as much. An area in which Canada appeals to be leading the way again, and that is in accessibility. While the question for many travelling to the US is not just, is this safe? They're also asking why the hell is this so expensive? Not to mention this is the first host nation that will be charging people to enter fan zone. But if you're in New York, Mamdani's got you covered. An NPR is reporting that one of the central problems ahead of the tournament is affordability, with World Cup ticket prices soaring. Tickets that were supposed to make this a global people's event are now pricing out the exact people who make the World Cup what it is. Not the corporate guests, not luxury suite clients, but fans. And the Associated Press have reported that just over a month before kickoff, tickets for most group stage matches were still available on FIFA's website, but many were sitting at extraordinary prices. For the US opener against Paraguay in LA, some tickets reached nearly $4,100. If you look at semi-final premium seats, they're listed as high as $11,000. And this is largely down to the resale market. This is where things go from expensive to just absurd. Reports show that some final tickets on FIFA's resale platform are being listed for extreme resale prices, with FIFA taking commission from the resale transactions. But while the US president is out here cosying up to the FIFA president thanks to the made-up prize that he gifted him, you know, to help distract from the whole price gouging, travel warnings, and uncertainty, etc. And on Iran, a little while ago, the president of FIFA said that when the World Cup is here in the US, the team from Iran will be playing in the games. Well, if Johnny said it, I'm okay. Did Johnny say it? He did. What if they win? Johnny Infantino, that's a piece of work. What if they win? Well, if they win, we'll have to worry about that. I'm going to have to worry about that one. Look, you know what? Let him play well. Johnny's fantastic. You know, he's a friend of mine. And he talked about it. He said, you do whatever you want. You can have them. You don't have to have them. Probably have a good team. Do they have a good team? Do you have any idea? Well, up in Canada, in Toronto to be specific, they're showing what fan protection can look like. Ontario introduced the Putting Fans First Act, which bans resale tickets from being listed above face value. And because of that law, FIFA has been forced to remove resale tickets for Toronto matches from its official resale marketplace. So Toronto is now the only one of the 16 host cities without tickets available on FIFA's official resale marketplace because relisted tickets in Ontario must be sold at face value. Now, Live Nation Entertainment, they reached back to us. They own Ticketmaster Canada. And in a statement, they said that Live Nation Entertainment, they are supporting the Ontario government's commitment to protecting fans by capping the resale price of concert tickets. And they're in favour of measures that promote fair, transparent ticketing and curb exploitative resale practices. So that was a statement from Live Nation Entertainment saying that they are supporting the Ontario government's role in this. You know, we also heard from Ontario NDP Shadow Attorney General, Kristen Wong-Tam. And here's what Kristen had to say. We know that thousands of people, tens of thousands of people have been ripped off by Live Nation, Ticketmaster, which has enabled predatory resale, scalpers, things like that. So this is definitely a move in the right direction. It doesn't help those Taylor Swift fans who got ripped off in October 2024. We've seen, you know, during the Blue Jays playoff series, a lot of individuals taking advantage of the secondary market and charging individuals exorbitant prices. Premier Ford has always been on the side of the consumer. Now there are some questions about what this would look like when it comes to buying tickets, what that would mean for pricing, fair games and, you know, how many tickets would be released. Experts that we spoke to say there are some downsides. Here's what one expert had to say. By capping the resale ticket price at the original value of the ticket, what you're going to see is folks are going to go to unsafe essentially markets, whether it's Facebook marketplace, whether you're using a WhatsApp group or other means of buying tickets at exorbitant prices. Because what we know in evidence from other countries is that people simply go to other places in order to sell their tickets and buy tickets if they want to go to events. They don't simply stop buying these tickets. Now the province says the changes to this legislation will be introduced in just a couple of days and it also is set to be included in the budget, which we will have a better look at later this month. So they're calling FIFA's bluff and that's a huge contrast, right? In the US, fans are staring at dynamic pricing, luxury markups and resale madness. But up there in Canada, in Toronto, the law says, no, actually, you're not allowed to turn a World Cup ticket into a mortgage paying product. And Toronto is not some minor side venue either, right? It's hosting six matches, including Canada's opening game on June 12th. And I mean, when you put it like that, it's no surprise that hotels in the United States are cutting rates because demand was softer than expected, which in itself, right, should be a major red flag because hotels do not slash prices during a global mega event because everything is going swimmingly. They do it because rooms are not filling and there is skepticism. The US hotel industry is starting to worry about the World Cup. Due to ongoing economic uncertainty, geopolitical tension, and a prolonged so-called Trump slump causing a drop in international visitors, the significant boost US hotels were expecting from the World Cup may not happen, according to CoStar, the leading benchmarking and analytics firm for the industry. The US hotel industry is concerned about the impact of the World Cup due to uncertainty over international fan attendance. A FIFA analysis last year projected a $30.5 billion economic boost and 185,000 jobs this year, assuming millions of international tourists would flock to the tournament. FIFA President Gianni Infantino has repeatedly stated that World Cup tickets sold out quickly, yet some US fans received emails in February offering a 48-hour window to purchase tickets. Alan Fjall, professor at the University of Central Florida's Rosen College of Hospitality Management, told Forbes, quote, they're selling primarily to domestic customers. There is a big question about international visitors. Reports of domestic ticket sales and the notoriously difficult US visa process have raised doubts. Host cities were advised to expect a 50-50 split between domestic and international visitors, but hotels prefer international guests because they spend more, stay longer, use more amenities, and contribute more to the local economy. US inbound international travel declined in 2025, a trend noted by US Travel Association CEO Jeff Freeman at the 2026 America's Lodging Investment Summit in January. Freeman questioned if the Trump administration's tourism dampening policies, like the $250 visa integrity fee and proposed social media history requirement for some travelers, would continue. And that raises the obvious question, why? Well, many are pointing to the Trump effect. I am very concerned that because of statements made by the president and actions taken by the Trump administration, that we're going to be discouraging soccer fans from coming to games here, and that our communities will lose the economic benefits of that game, or that they will be diminished. The report that was released in March of 2025 projected that international tourism in the United States would increase 6.5% in 2025 and another 10% in 2026. And that did not happen in 2025, did it? Correct. In fact, I have a chart here that we asked the Congressional Service, Congressional Research Service to put together based on the Department of Commerce numbers. In other words, we took your numbers and this is the chart. You all projected 6% increase. You can see a steady decline. I mean, not even close to 6%. Negative. And obviously, the World Cup is still going to come to America, but there is a possibility that it will not arrive the way that Trump hoped. Not as a celebration of American strength, not as proof that the world wants to come here because it's the hottest ticket on earth, but as a reminder that even the biggest sporting event on earth can be damaged by bad politics, bad planning, bad leaders in a country that increasingly feels less like a host and more like an obstacle course.