1 in 5 Canadians Will Watch World Cup Matches at a Local Business, but Rising Costs Will Offset Owners' Expected Gains

1 in 5 Canadians Will Watch World Cup Matches at a Local Business, but Rising Costs Will Offset Owners' Expected Gains

Canadians are 11x more likely to watch World Cup matches at a local business than a national chain, but rising costs are preventing owners from capturing the demand

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is expected to send Canadians into local and independently owned businesses, but a new study suggests many small business owners may not be positioned to turn that demand into revenue.

While 1 in 5 (22%) of Canadians said they would watch World Cup matches at a locally or independently-owned business, 58% of small businesses expect the tournament to have no impact on revenue compared to a typical summer.

That is according to the 2026 Small Business Pulse by Merchant Growth, Canada’s online financing and growth solution for small businesses. It draws on responses from 130 small business owners and a national Angus Reid survey of 1,504 Canadians that Merchant Growth commissioned. Together, the findings expose an alarming gap between consumer demand and businesses’ ability to capture that demand.