Twenty-two years after the Expos left our city, and on the occasion of the Toronto Blue Jays’ 50th anniversary, it is clear where Montreal baseball fans place their loyalties these days. I was at Rogers Stadium for a game last week, where I had media access. This is Canada’s team now, and while we still see a lot of people sporting Expos hats, the Jays have our full attention.
Before the game at field level, I posed the question to former Expo and present-day Blue Jays broadcaster Joe Sidall, who is from Windsor. “I’d love to see baseball back in Montreal,” he said. “Toronto is now Canada’s team. It is very important, coast to coast, to have a team to pull for.”
Jays Assistant Pitching Coach Sam Greene, a native of Philadelphia who graduated in 2021 from McGill University with a master’s degree from the Desautels Faculty of Management in Analytics, concurs. “There are tons of fans travelling to see us play, especially when we’re in the northeast,” he said. “So yeah, I’d say the Blue Jays are Montreal’s team.”
There are a number of examples of how the Jays are creating presence in Montreal.
Camp B’nai Brith of Montreal had its annual visit to Toronto last Wednesday and that included a Jays game. Back in the day they would have been bused to Olympic Stadium to see the Expos.
The Jays Care Foundation offers extra-curricular programs in schools at cost, and yes, it is starting to catch on here. It’s free, easy, and there is no previous baseball experience necessary. You just have to take part in a virtual training session, find at least 10 students interested in participating in introductory softball/baseball programming, and commit to at least eight weeks of extracurricular programs one to two hours a week. The Jays ship out free specialized equipment kits.
Make-A-Wish Canada has granted wishes for kids in Montreal. Jays-related wishes have included a variety of experiences, such as throwing the first pitch, meeting players, attending a game, and other unique baseball-related experiences.
The Jays have made a $300,000 donation to youth baseball initiatives across the country. Former star catcher and NDG native Russell Martin awarded $50,000 to Montreal-based Academie de Baseball du Canada and Baseball Canada.
Back in the day the Jays used to play an annual weekend of exhibition games at Olympic Stadium. They sold out, and Perry Gee of ExposFest brought in former Expos legends to be on hand and held his annual gala. That is not possible these days because the “Big Owe” is undergoing major renovation work.
The game I attended featured the Tampa Bay Rays. Not too long ago there was talk of a Montreal group headed by Stephen Bronfman, Mitch Garber, and others entering into a partnership whereby the Rays would play half their games in Montreal. That deal was scuttled, and in the fall of 2024, Hurricane Milton ripped through the roof at their Tropicana field. The Rays had to play the 2025 season at a small minor league stadium. If the “Big Owe” was operational, who knows if the team could have moved there?
In the press box I met up with Jeff Blair. He covered the Expos for The Gazette from 1989 to 1997, and today co-hosts a popular podcast broadcast online and on Sportsnet 590 called The Fan. “I thought four years ago they were coming back when the Stephen Bronfman thing with the Rays happened,” he said. “I just think that ship has left the dock.”
Finally, a shoutout for Your Girl Flav, one of the in-house deejays who told me she lived in Montreal a few years back. “I generally play a fusion of Latin/English high energy music to pump the players up,” she said.
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