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On this crystal-clear and sunny October day, Canadian Grant Murray was eager to drive down seattle for once in a lifetime Major League Baseball Playoff game involving his beloved toronto blue jays,
But he didn’t really want to be here United States of AmericaAnd the 62-year-old lawyer from Vancouver, BC, was determined to spend as little money as possible after his older brother, who flew in from Australia, convinced him to go.
In the past, Murray has said that he would usually make a special day trip to Seattle to watch the Blue Jays during the regular season, and spend five times as much money to enjoy Washington state along the way.
“I’ll have a hot dog inside but I’m not here to spend money,” Murray said Wednesday, detailing the limited expenses planned for his trip to T-Mobile Park for Game 3 of the American League Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners. “I’m just here for the Blue Jays.”
Toronto won the game 13–4, although Seattle still led the best-of-seven series 2–1 with the American League pennant and a chance to play in the World Series on the line. More Canadians are expected to arrive Thursday and Friday for the remaining Seattle games before heading back to Toronto if needed.
Like many Canadians, Murray has since been boycotting the US trump The administration began threatening Canada’s economy and sovereignty with tariffs and heated political rhetoric, most aggressively by claiming that Canada could be the “51st state”.
But like many Canadians, Murray is a die-hard Blue Jays fan, so he made an exception for baseball this week and paid $280 for a standing-room-only ticket — the cheapest he could find. But, he explains, he’s not drinking beer and refuses to spend the night in a Seattle hotel, opting instead to drive more than six hours roundtrip on weeknights to play for Canada’s only MLB team.
“That’s why I started visiting (Seattle) instead of not visiting,” Murray said of the playoff series, wearing an obviously much-loved T-shirt from the 1992 playoffs that ended with Toronto’s first World Series championship.
You could call it a geopolitical thaw thanks to the love of ball, made possible by both Canadians’ passionate Blue Jays fans and the deep Pacific Northwest ties that bind British Columbia and Washington state.
Rhiannon McMillan called the Blue Jays-Mariners matchup a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see her two favorite teams.
“This is my dream series,” said the 36-year-old electrician from Maple Ridge, B.C. “Either way, I can’t lose.”
Yes, there’s no doubt the Blue Jays have the hearts of Canadians at large. In fact, MLB reports that there are 15.8 million Blue Jays fans across Canada, more than half of whom live outside Ontario, representing the largest single fan base of any Canadian professional sports team by the league’s count.
But the Great White North being so vast means that many Canadians also have loyalty to American clubs, a natural fan base outside of proximity. Inside the game, McMillan said the Mariners fans were kind and welcoming – the euphoric atmosphere a reminder of how much he missed visiting the area, even if the political climate at the national level could not be erased from the picture.
McMillan said she did not hesitate to pay $300 for her ticket to watch the game with friends, although the mother of three declined to bring her children along due to American politics.
“It was a little spot of love and harmony for a few hours,” McMillan said.
He added: “My biggest reason for avoiding (the US) is the fear of 100% uncertainty about how this administration might suddenly change policy, (and) their casual disregard for the Constitution and the rule of law.”
McMillan said she is particularly concerned about its policies on transgender rights, as well as the possibility that her children may see ICE agents detaining families. Recently, her family was also debating between Disneyland in California or Mexico for an upcoming vacation and decided against the American destination despite having family in the area.
Such choices are what have resulted in a steep decline in travel and tourism to the US across the world’s longest international border.
Border crossings by Canadian passenger vehicles into Washington state are projected to decline by 36% in the first nine months of 2025 compared to the same period last year, according to analysis by the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University.
Visit Seattle, the tourism agency that promotes the city and King County, said they are projecting a 26% decline in international tourism for 2025, which is largely made up of Canadian visitors. In 2024, Canadians are projected to spend $586 million in the region, representing 60% of international visitor spending or 6.6% of total tourism dollars for the city and county.
Bob Donegan, president of Ivar’s, an iconic seafood eatery with outposts on the Seattle waterfront, inside Mariners Stadium as well as T-Mobile Park, said it was disappointing to see a steady decline in Canadian tourists this year.
He was so missed that Donegan led a local tourism campaign in May in which other local businesses offered specials, discounts and goodwill to lure him back for the last regular season Blue Jays–Mariners matchup. Donegan said he hopes the playoffs will now be a turning point for Canadian tourism in Seattle.
“They tip well. They’re nice to the servers. They come in family groups. The Canadians drink a few beers and they’re even friendlier,” Donegan said. “It’s noticeable when our Canadian friends don’t come.”
FRS Clipper, a fast ferry operator running between Seattle and Victoria, BC, also had to cut routes during its peak season this summer and significantly reduced operations due to the downturn in Canadian tourism.
But to seize the baseball momentum, Clipper Ferries this week began special “Playoff Express” sailings to accommodate Canadian passengers with direct rides to downtown Seattle for each of the three games. Wednesday’s ferry carried about 300 passengers, the company said.
Among them was Nathan Byrd, 47, of Victoria, B.C., who paid about $350 for his game ticket and budgeted about $1,000 for a 24-hour “down and dirty” trip to Seattle.
Bird, who works in tourism, said Canadian outrage has subsided in recent months, with summer tourism suffering as many people booked their vacations in the spring at the height of the Trump movement. He said he is not personally bothered by the political turmoil and predicts tourism will bounce back next summer.
“We need to be friends,” Bird said of the two countries. “Let’s just watch some good baseball and forget all the other nonsense.”