When the biggest event in world soccer touches down in Vancouver next year, it will also create a big headache for the province’s court system.
The chief justice of the B.C. Supreme Court is warning that the FIFA 2026 World Cup will have “very significant impacts” on court operations.
“The important priorities of public safety and traffic and crowd management during the event will draw heavily on police resources in the Lower Mainland and potentially elsewhere in the province,” Justice Ron Skolrood wrote in a recent notice.
“For similar reasons, the BC Sheriff Service may have difficulty providing its usual level of support for court operations, including for the transport to court of accused persons in custody, for jury management, and for courthouse security.”
Skolrood added that anticipated traffic disruptions, the unavailability of hotel rooms for witnesses and deliberating juries and uncertain availability of police officers are also expected to affect the courts.
As a result, the Vancouver, New Westminster, Abbotsford and Chilliwack law courts will be virtually shut down between June 12 and July 8, 2026.
“The Court is committed to ensuring that the Court maintains sufficient capacity to handle urgent matters and emergency hearings during the events and to protecting the safety and security of court participants, court proceedings and courthouses,” the chief justice said.
All criminal trials by either judge or jury set for that period will need to be rescheduled, as will any jury selections.
Civil jury trials scheduled during the FIFA period will also need to be postponed.
The court will continue to schedule chambers applications during the period, but Skolrood said they could still see disruptions.
B.C. Premier David Eby said the World Cup will be the “largest sporting event ever in the history of our province, and that as during the 2010 Olympics, British Columbians will need to put up with some disruptions.
However, he said the province would work with the courts to ensure people’s right to a trial is not unduly affected.
“This can be a very sensitive area for disruption; people have a right to a trial in a certain, fixed amount of time — we have to hit those targets. In fact, we are best in Canada for hitting those targets,” Eby said.
“But we have more work to do to ensure every single trial gets to court on time, and we will work with the court to make sure we address any concerns they may have.”
Vancouver is scheduled to host seven games during the tournament, starting on Saturday, June 13, 2026.