Trudeau government blocks Blue Jays from playing home games in Canada

The decision was handed down by Marco Mendicino, the Canadian Immigration Minister on Saturday, denying the Blue Jays exemption to the emergency provisions in place restricting international travel and closing the Rogers Centre, confirming previous speculation on the matter.

The Blue Jays’ situation is unique, since the other twenty-nine major league baseball teams all have their home ballparks located within the USA. The training grounds in Dunedin, FL are being considered, among other options, as possibilities for an interim home base.

The Toronto (municipal) and Ontario (provincial) governments had previously given permission to the Blue Jays to use the Rogers Centre for home games, and travel back and forth with strict precautions, which included forced strict quarantine in a hotel for all players and staff involved.

This, however, was overruled by the Trudeau government. Mendicinio stated that the risks of frequent travel to and from the USA was too much, given the recent spikes in new cases in many areas, including Florida.

The Blue Jays’ first game is slated for July 24th in Tampa Bay. This year’s season, for pandemic-related reasons, has been shortened to sixty games. The USA/Canada border was set to re-open on July 25th, but that date has recently been pushed back to August 21st.

An exemption was granted to the NHL for its season due to the games being limited to two hub cities: Edmonton and Toronto. As well, summer camp will take place at the Rogers Centre. The players will shelter in place at the hotel attached to the centre in total isolation, and be subject to heavy fines and possible jail time if they are caught breaking the quarantine.