Toronto police have begun their motorcade escorts of FIFA World Cup teams ahead of the tournament kickoff on Thursday.
Videos and images posted on social media show the Team Canada bus travelling down University Avenue flanked by several police vehicles.
Others show the bus carrying Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada’s first opponent, being guided by Toronto police on the Gardiner Expressway in the west end.
In a statement to CTV News, a Toronto police spokesperson said it will be providing motorcades for teams and “certain officials” where there is a clear public need for doing so, such as to prevent a team bus from getting swarmed by fans.
“In addition to team escorts, these resources will also be used to assist the RCMP with the movement of Internationally Protected Persons, as required under federal mandate,” they said.
Toronto is hosting six of the World Cup’s 104 matches starting Friday. It’s unclear if all of the teams playing at Toronto Stadium (aka BMO Field) will receive an escort.
In a video posted last month, Toronto police showcased their motorcade training for the tournament.
Sgt. Derek O’Donohue said the goal of the motorcade is to efficiently move a vehicle, or vehicles, form one point to another in a safe and efficient manner with the “least amount of impact” to other road users.
Toronto last saw motorcades of this scale during Taylor Swift’s six-show residency at Rogers Centre in 2024. The cost to police those events, including the motorcades, was pegged at $1.9 million. It’s unclear how much the motorcades for Toronto’s FIFA World Cup hosting duties will cost.
