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Jul 20, 2020 - Sports

Canada says the Blue Jays can't play in Toronto

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Correction: The left chart was corrected to show the U.S. had a 7-day average of 2.0 new cases per 10,000 people (not 14 new cases per 10,000 people). Data: The COVID Tracking Project and Health Canada; Chart: Naema Ahmed/Axios
Correction: The left chart was corrected to show the U.S. had a 7-day average of 2.0 new cases per 10,000 people (not 14 new cases per 10,000 people). Data: The COVID Tracking Project and Health Canada; Chart: Naema Ahmed/Axios

The Canadian government denied the Blue Jays' request to play at Rogers Centre in Toronto this season due to fears about cross-border travel.

What's happening: While the NHL's plan calls for teams to travel to Toronto and Edmonton and stay there, MLB's plan calls for regular travel, with the Blue Jays and their AL and NL East foes frequenting hot spots like Florida and Georgia.

  • Teams would have been arriving in Toronto on a weekly basis, and the government concluded that such frequent back-and-forth "would not adequately protect Canadians' health and safety."

What they're saying: "In Canada you've seen us flatten the curve ... and that is largely attributable to the sacrifices Canadians have made. We can ill afford a step back," said Canadian immigration minister Marco Mendicino.

"This is about Canada wanting to continue to distance itself from a dysfunctional neighbour who seems to have lost touch with reality. ... Unfortunately for the Jays, they got caught up in the middle of it."
— Gregor Chisholm, Toronto Star

What's next: The MLB season starts on Thursday, and the Blue Jays do not have a home. They've considered Sahlen Field in Buffalo, home to their Triple-A affiliate, but players are adamant about playing in a big-league ballpark.

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