Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino announced in a statement Saturday the federal government had denied the request, confirming what an official familiar with the matter had told The Associated Press earlier. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak ahead of the announcement.
The team had been given clearance by city and provincial governments to play regular-season games at Rogers Centre and was awaiting approval from Canada’s federal government.
“Unlike preseason training, regular season games would require repeated cross-border travel of Blue Jays players and staff, as well as opponent teams into and out of Canada.