While Edmonton is one of three Canadian cities to be included in a joint bid from countries in North America to host the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, the Alberta government has confirmed to CTV News it is not committing to provide financial support for the bid.

Canada Soccer announced Edmonton, Montreal and Toronto are the three Canadian cities on the potential list of host cities for the event.

On Thursday, a spokesperson for the Alberta Ministry of Culture and Tourism told CTV News the province would not commit to providing funds for Edmonton’s bid.

“The province has made the difficult decision to not commit to funding support for the City of Edmonton’s participation in a joint North American bid for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup at this time,” the statement said.

“At this time there wasn’t enough information available to be able to determine the full impact that hosting the world cup would have on Alberta and provincial taxpayers.”

The provincial update came after a federal government announcement Tuesday. Ottawa announced its official support for Canadian cities in the bid – promising up to $5 million in immediate help if the unified bid is selected.

In the past, Edmonton’s mayor has said the bid would require provincial support, but city staff and councillors said despite the development, Edmonton is moving forward with the bid.

“It does create uncertainty,” Councillor Sarah Hamilton said. “The city is still moving forward as part of that bid and if we’re successfully, and fingers crossed we are, it gives us the opportunity to go back to the province and ask them for money, post-bid.”

Edmonton’s projected cost to host the event are between $35 and 55 million.

A total of 23 cities are on the list, including Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Monterrey in Mexico, and 17 cities in the United States, such as Atlanta, Cincinnati, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York/New Jersey, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Washington, D.C.

The bid calls for ten matches each hosted in Canada and Mexico, with the remaining 60 games to be held in the U.S. A total of 80 games will be played over the course of the 32 day tournament.

The final bid submission will go to FIFA Friday.

If the unified bid gets the nod over Morocco at the FIFA Congress in June, up to 16 cities will be selected.

Vancouver and Chicago pulled out of the bid at the last minute, over concerns about FIFA’s demands.

With files from Dan Grummett and The Canadian Press