Fact File: No evidence Vancouver busing out homeless ahead of World Cup

VANCOUVER — Rumours have spread on social media that homeless people from Vancouver were being bused out of town in an attempt to “clean up” ahead of the FIFA World Cup that begins next month. But Vancouver denies the claims, and several British Columbia cities that were supposedly on the receiving end say there is no evidence to support the rumours. In Prince George, B.C., which is frequently cited as a destination for homeless people from Vancouver, a service provider says they haven’t seen an unusual influx of people.

THE CLAIM

“I heard rumours today that Vancouver is sending their homeless to Williams Lake/Quesnel/Prince George. They are given $100.00 and a Bus Ticket. Vancouver wants to clean up before the FIFA Games this Summer in Vancouver,” reads a March 4 post in a Facebook community group for Williams Lake, B.C.

The post is one of several making the rounds on social media since April that claim Vancouver is sending large numbers of its homeless population to other parts of British Columbia ahead of the FIFA World Cup in June.

In a TikTok video earlier this month, a business owner in Merritt, B.C., said he had noticed an increase in people who appear homeless asking him for money or sleeping outside his shop. The business owner claimed people were being shipped from Vancouver to Merritt and other smaller B.C. communities. “What’s been happening is the World Cup,” he said.

In an April 10 post to a Facebook group for Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside community, one person claimed they heard of someone who was paid $100 to board a bus and relocate to Chilliwack.

“Looks like the Mayor is doing some tidying up before FIFA,” they wrote.

THE FACTS

In response to questions about the rumours, a spokesperson for the City of Vancouver pointed to the human rights action plan it published Monday, which details how Vancouver will meet its human rights obligations during the World Cup.

The city said rumours that it is sending people who are homeless out of Vancouver to northern communities during the World Cup are false. The plan notes that homeless services and programs will continue and people can still erect temporary shelters in parks overnight.

However, the city is required by FIFA to implement beautification standards. That includes the removal of structures including tents and canopies during the day, Vancouver deputy city manager Sandra Singh told reporters at city hall Monday.

The City of Prince George said it has been aware of similar rumours for several years but found no evidence to support them.

“Our bylaw division makes daily patrols throughout the downtown core, and efforts to verify these claims have been made, including direct conversations with homeless individuals,” communications manager Claire Thwaites said in an email Tuesday.

Thwaites said city staff and service providers haven’t noticed a significant increase in people who are homeless or seen buses of people being dropped off downtown.

The World Cup rumours prompted several Prince George city councillors to weigh in on Facebook.

Coun. Trudy Klassen wrote on May 15 that Prince George has no agreement to receive homeless people from other municipalities and no evidence to support “the rumour that busloads of individuals are being decamped from other communities.”

Coun. Ron Polillo echoed Klassen in a May 19 post: “There is no evidence or data to support this narrative. I and other council members have brought this up several times with B.C. government agencies and they have the same response. This is not happening!”

Joel McKay, the city manager for Quesnel, told The Canadian Press via email there was no evidence for the rumour that remains “persistent” in B.C.’s Interior communities.

The Association Advocating for Women and Community, which provides services in Prince George that include supportive housing, said it’s common for people to travel from other communities in the spring and summer in order to access services. However, the organization said there is no sign of a co-ordinated effort to send people there.

“There appears to be the usual summer influx of individuals in Prince George,” fundraising coordinator Danielle Trudeau said via email Tuesday.

The Homelessness Services Association of B.C. noted the majority of people counted as homeless in its 2025 count for Merritt, Quesnel and Williams Lake were longtime residents of each community.

The most recent homeless count for Prince George was conducted by a coalition of community groups in 2024, and it recorded about 24 per cent of the homeless population as having moved to Prince George in the previous year; the majority said they moved to the city from elsewhere in northern B.C.

The Canadian Press sought comment from the cities of Merritt and Williams Lake but did not receive a response by publication.

Chilliwack Mayor Ken Popove said in March that the city is full and cannot accept people who are homeless, including during the World Cup. He said he heard about a man who had been dropped off in Chilliwack with money in his pocket to access services there.

Popove previously said “Chilliwack is full” in 2023 after a video circulated that appeared to show homeless people being dropped off in Chilliwack by Vancouver’s Union Gospel Mission.

The charity disputed that perception of the video, saying a team member drove someone to Chilliwack to meet with a landlord and sign a rental agreement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2026.

Marissa Birnie, The Canadian Press