The Ford government says it plans to move more staff to its enforcement team ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup as it looks to stop people reselling tickets for more than their face value.
As part of its 2026 budget, the government passed a ban on tickets being sold for more than their face value in Ontario, promising hefty fines and rapid action for anyone trying to circumvent the ban.
The fines range from $3,000 to $250,000 and apply to reselling tickets for all events taking place since the law was passed.
While the government hasn’t been able to say how many new staff it has hired to enforce the rule, it says 32 people are specifically assigned to ticket resale enforcement and that more will be added to the team ahead of major events.
“As part of our action to crack down on unfair ticket resale prices, the Consumer Protection Branch will be moving staff from other areas to the enforcement team for large events, such as FIFA, where higher resale activity is anticipated,” a spokesperson for Stephen Crawford, Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement, told Global News.
Six FIFA World Cup matches held in Toronto between June 12 and July 2 will be a key early test of the policy.
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Soccer’s governing body has set up its own resale platform with no limits on how much people can demand for their tickets. Across the United States and Mexico, tickets for matches are listed for thousands of dollars.
When the Ford government proposed its ticket cap, FIFA didn’t address questions of how it would enforce the policy. Shortly after the law came into effect, it removed all listings for matches in Toronto.
Ticketmaster has moved to only offer face value tickets, but resale giant StubHub has not — although it recently said the company had a “productive conversation” with Crawford.
On Monday morning, Ontario NDP MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam asked the government to explain how resale tickets could still be available.
“Click on StubHub today and you can find resale Blue Jay tickets listed for more than five times the original face value,” she told the legislature.
“This is exactly what the premier claimed that he had banned. With FIFA World Cup starting in one month, will this government put fans first and explain how many enforcement officers have been hired and how many charges have been laid since the new law was passed?”
Crawford said he’d reached out to companies still listing ticket sales above face value.
“We have hundreds of people working in the consumer protection division of our ministry and we are in contact with all companies,” he responded.
“Letters have been sent to all companies. We’ve been in discussions with every organization that is a reseller of tickets, and we will be continuing discussions with them and will be further enhancing enforcement in the very near future, if not in compliance.”
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
