Ottawa saying little about Toronto's call to block ICE from World Cup

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) agents patrol around the Washington Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Va., Tuesday, March 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce)

The federal government is not responding directly to a Toronto city council motion opposing the presence of any U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at upcoming FIFA World Cup games.

The motion, brought forward by Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow and adopted last week, calls on the federal public safety and foreign affairs ministers to reject any ICE deployment.

Toronto will host the Canadian opening game of the tournament when Canada faces off against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 12.

The office of federal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said Canadian law enforcement agencies are “solely responsible for law enforcement in Canada.”

“Minister Anandasangaree remains in regular contact with federal and local partners to ensure the safety and security of all FIFA World Cup events in Toronto and Vancouver,” spokesperson Simon Lafortune said in an emailed statement.

• As World Cup nears, Toronto mayor moves to block U.S. ICE presence

In response to a followup question about whether the minister of public safety rejects any possible ICE deployment in Toronto, Lafortune said: “ICE has no authority or jurisdiction on Canadian soil.”

A spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand did not answer directly when asked about the prospect of an ICE deployment to Canada.

“Canada looks forward to welcoming the world for the FIFA World Cup. All matters relating to domestic public safety rest with Canadian law enforcement officials,” Anand’s spokesperson Myah Tomasi said.

Canada is co-hosting the 39-day tournament with the United States and Mexico. Thirteen matches are scheduled to take place in Toronto and Vancouver.

Vancouver city councillors also brought forward a motion opposing any ICE deployment at World Cup games in February, but it did not go forward.

• Vancouver council motion to oppose ICE at World Cup is ruled out of order

ICE currently has five offices in Canada, including offices in Toronto and Vancouver.

The agency played a role in security at this winter’s Olympic Games in Italy. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a social media post at the time that “obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries.”

A spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency said the agency “is not privy to the organizational details of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”

A report from Amnesty International released earlier this week on human rights and the World Cup said that any ICE presence in Canada during the tournament would be risky.

“Protests against ICE and other policies of the Trump administration have already taken place in both of Canada’s World Cup host cities, Vancouver and Toronto, and could be repeated during the tournament, not least if the U.S. team is drawn to play in Canada in later rounds and ICE personnel are deployed to provide security,” the report said.

Julia Sande, Amnesty International Canada’s strategic litigation, refugee and migrant rights campaigner, said Canadians should be alarmed by the prospect of ICE agents in Canada.

“I think it’s important that we send a strong message that we don’t accept co-operation with ICE. We don’t want Canada following in their footsteps,” Sande said.

“Their presence could certainly send a chilling message, could certainly cause fear within communities about showing up to games or events.”

The Amnesty International report said ICE and other agencies “have been transformed into a paramilitary-style operation, which has involved masked, armed federal agents breaking down doors and into homes without warrants and arbitrarily arresting, detaining, abusing, and killing community members across the USA.”

ICE has been mired in controversy and pursued by lawsuits over its agents’ aggressive tactics and alleged violations of civil rights while rounding up vast numbers of immigrants for deportation.

Federal agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minnesota during the immigration enforcement operation in that state. Dozens of people, including a Canadian, have died in ICE custody since January 2025, when Trump was inaugurated.

Mark Kersten, an assistant professor in criminology and criminal justice at the University of the Fraser Valley in British Columbia, said the federal government should explain why ICE is allowed to operate in Canada, given their activities in the United States.

He said the motions before the Toronto and Vancouver city councils were “well intended” but “don’t really get us to the core of the question, which is why does ICE still exist in Canada at all?”

MacIntosh Ross, a fellow at the Scott McCain and Leslie McLean Centre for Sport, Business and Health at Saint Mary’s University, said the motions are “mostly to reassure people.”

He said if it continues be an issue, it would make sense for the federal government “just to say something about the sovereignty of Canada and that citizens don’t have to worry about ICE within our borders, whether that means they’re not welcome here or we have them under control.”

Ross added he understands why Canadians are wary of ICE being at games “that will feature nations from all over the world, considering the way that they’ve cracked down on people in the United States, the way the United States as a … government has cracked down on their own people and attacked other nations abroad.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2026.

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press

— With files from Kyle Duggan