City of Toronto spending $200,000 on World Cup condoms, lube

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Toronto Public Health is spending nearly $200,000 on condoms and other sex paraphernalia for the World Cup, the Toronto Sun has learned.

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An invoice, obtained in a freedom-of-information request, shows TPH has purchased 576,000 branded condoms and 200,000 individual packages of lubricant. At 21 and 15 cents respectively, that will cost Toronto taxpayers $120,960 for the rubbers and $30,000 for the lube.

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TPH confirmed to the Sun that, in a possible attempt to appeal to soccer collectors, the condom wrappers will come in six designs.

The initiative is meant to beat back the number of cases of diseases such as chlamydia and gonorrhea, which in Toronto total in the thousands each year, TPH said.

Also part of the buy are 12,500 female (internal) condoms and 16,000 dental dams.

The items are being provided by Pamco Distributing, a Kitchener-based company that specializes in “sexual health and reproductive wellness products,” according to its website.

The Pamco invoice, for $199,960, was dated Sept. 3, 2025. It was the only document provided to the Sun from the search, suggesting this is TPH’s only World Cup-specific expense, or at least the only one on the books as of November 2025, when the information was requested.

Nobody’s ‘priority’

In an emailed statement, Councillor Brad Bradford, who has announced that he intends to run to succeed Olivia Chow as mayor this year, told the Sun nobody has ever told him “that condoms and lube should be a priority for their tax dollars.”

“This is the type of wasteful spending that is emblematic of city hall and the Chow administration having the wrong priorities. They need to be better focused on delivering the basics,” the statement said.

In its own emailed statement, Toronto Public Health said distributing these types of products at large events, such as during the 2015 Pan Am Games or Toronto’s annual pride parade, “is routine public health practice and aligns with existing harm reduction and disease prevention efforts.”

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“Mass gatherings present a range of public health risks. In addition to communicable diseases, mass gatherings can lead to increased rates of sexually transmitted infections and substance use. With the number of visitors and sports fans expected in Toronto for FIFA World Cup 2026, Toronto Public Health will be distributing free condoms and other safer sex supplies,” the TPH statement added.

“In anticipation of increased amounts of people in the city, six limited-edition soccer-inspired condom wrappers designs will be available throughout the summer, coupled with sexual health public awareness campaigns. The funding for condoms and other safer sex supplies is accounted for in TPH’s existing operating budget.”

Of the 16,000 dental dams, most are latex but 6,000 are polyisoprene. Pamco’s website boasts that the company’s Harmony polyisoprene dams “are the only Health Canada licensed and FDA approved non-latex oral barrier available.”

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“Harmony polyisoprene dams were developed specifically for those who cannot use latex due to sensitivities or allergies, allowing everyone the opportunity to practice safer sex,” the website says.

At October 2025’s meeting of Toronto’s board of health, members – including a few city councillors – were told the condom initiative follows a similar program from the Pan Am Games. They also heard TPH has plans for “harm reduction” initiatives related to the World Cup, and to monitor waste water at event locations for signs of communicable illnesses.

In its statement to the Sun, TPH said chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis “are among the most reported communicable diseases” in Toronto.

Sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections, such as those three diseases, made up roughly 64% of all diseases “of public health significance reported to TPH” in 2024, “including more than 14,000 cases of chlamydia and 7,000 cases of gonorrhea,” the statement said.

Based on the early data, that proportion rose to 81% of those diseases reported to TPH in 2025, including 12,072 chlamydia cases and 6,342 cases of gonorrhea, the statement added.

Toronto will host six matches during the World Cup, with the first taking place on June 12.

jholmes@postmedia.com

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