Bob Donegan of Ivar’s, a Seattle-based seafood restaurant chain known for its slogan “Keep clam!”, says he’s a bit concerned about the lack of Canadians travelling south to cheer the Toronto Blue Jays as they square off against the Seattle Mariners.
Donegan says he loves Canadian baseball fans, referring to them as “friendly and goofy and delightful,” but he see signs that they may be passing up the chance to see the Blue Jays during their only trip to Washington state this season.
“I’m looking over the waterfront right now and there are hundreds of people walking the waterfront, not a single one of them has a Blue Jay cap or a Blue Jay sweatshirt on, and that saddens us,” Donegan said Friday, ahead of the Jays’ three-game set against the Mariners at T-Mobile Park.
The Jays’ visit to Seattle comes as fewer Canadians travel to the U.S. amid President Donald Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats. April saw a 51 per cent drop in cars with B.C. licence plates heading into the U.S. from southwest B.C. compared to the same month last year.
Julie Nimmock of Vancouver says she and a friend have a tradition of travelling south to watch the Jays in Seattle. This year, she said, is different given the ongoing trade war and concerns that heightened scrutiny at the U.S. border makes travel to the country too uncertain.
“I think with everything going on right now, I just don’t feel 100 per cent comfortable going to the States currently, and I also don’t want to particularly support the economy either, considering some of Donald Trump’s statements towards Canada,” Nimmock said.
WATCH | Seattle radio station host talks about the absence of Canadian fans:
Kim Malcolm, the host of All Things Considered from NPR affiliate station KUOW, says plenty of Canadians usually cross the border to see Seattle-hosted baseball games between the Blue Jays and the Mariners, but Seattle residents are seeing less Canadian tourist traffic for the May 9 game. She tells BC Today host Michelle Eliot about businesses that have spoken to her about a decline in tourism that is coinciding with U.S. President Donald Trump’s border rhetoric.
Nimmock said she and her friend agreed to skip this year’s trip to Seattle and will reassess as things go along. In the meantime, she plans on visiting Nat Bailey Stadium to watch the Vancouver Canadians, the Blue Jays’ High-A affiliate.
A Seattle Mariners spokesperson told CBC News that they have heard anecdotally that fewer fans are making the trip from Canada this year, but “this weekend’s crowds are tracking towards our expected attendance numbers.”
If attendance were to drop, other factors could be in play. This year’s Blue Jays visit to Seattle comes in May, when for more than a decade it occurred in the summer. There’s also the fact that the Blue Jays are off to a slow start, with a winning percentage below .500.
Team’s record not a factor, says sports columnist
Mike Wilner, a podcaster and baseball columnist with the Toronto Star, thinks the team’s on-field performance will not affect attendance one way or the other, as fans in Western Canada have a history of showing up in force regardless of the team’s record.
“I was in Seattle in 2022 when the Blue Jays lost four straight, each in more humiliating fashion than the one before … but it was packed with Blue Jays fans,” Wilner said.
Wilner notes that some Canadian fans may still attend the games as they bought tickets to the Mariners-Jays series last year, ahead of current U.S.-Canada trade tensions.
While it remains to be seen how many fans will make the trip south, some Seattle businesses are taking part in a promotion to entice Canadians to visit the Emerald City.
Open Arms for Canadian Friends will see participating businesses take the Canadian dollar at par.
Donegan says between seven and 11 per cent of visitors to Seattle come from Canada, and “the lack of that delightful Canadian accent is noticeable” in the city.
He says the goal of the promotion is to get Canadians to attend the Jays’ games in Seattle, but also let them know “that you are our friends and our neighbours and we miss you and we hope that the relationship will survive this temporary roadblock.”