TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays won’t play at home during the upcoming regular season because Canada’s government doesn’t think it’s safe for players to travel back and forth from the United States, one of the countries hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic.
Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said Saturday the federal government had denied the Blue Jays’ request to play at Rogers Centre, confirming what an official familiar with the matter had told The Associated Press ahead of the announcement.
The team had been given clearance by city and provincial governments to play in its home stadium and was awaiting approval from Canada’s federal government. The other 29 Major League Baseball teams – all based in the United States – plan to play in their home ballparks, without spectators, when the pandemic-shortened 60-game season begins Thursday.
Mendicino told the AP that frequent travel to the United States, where COVID-19 cases are surging, was the biggest concern.
“There were serious risks if we proceeded with the regular-season proposal of the MLB and the Jays, and therefore we concluded it was not in the national interest,” Mendicino said. “I get that some people will disappointed, but this decision can’t be taken as a fan. It is taken on behalf of the health and safety of Canadians.”