Failure to attract sufficient funds from sponsors and poor ticket sales are said to have left the organisers in need of a further £5million.
"It's a critical situation," Montreal 2005 chief Yvon DesRochers told La Presse newspaper. "There's a real risk the championships could be cancelled."
Ticket sales for the event were well below the expected levels, with only £211,000-worth so far sold.
The Canadian government could be forced to find significant funding to prevent the championships being handed to another city.
