This world series is a diplomatic flashpoint

canadIAN FLAGS and america’s pastime

This 2025 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays is primed to be more than just a baseball showdown. This best-of-seven clash pits a Canadian team against an American team at a particularly heated moment in U.S.-Canadian relations... and it’s hard not to see the geopolitical undertones.

It’s no secret that tensions between the two nations have escalated in recent months. President Trump's tariff threats and suggestions of Canadian annexation — referring to the country as the “51st State” — have stoked anger north of the border. Ottawa has pushed back firmly, with officials reaffirming that Canada is, quite literally, “not for sale.”

Against that backdrop, this World Series practically invites national symbolism. The Blue Jays, Canada’s lone Major League Baseball team, represent sovereignty and self-determination — holding their own in America’s Pastime. The Dodgers, meanwhile, embody the archetype of powerful, wealthy, big-brother America. Wielding MLB’s largest payroll, they’ve outmuscled their competitors financially yet again. They won it all last year and have cakewalked through the playoffs this year. They’re from Hollywood, for crying out loud.

For Canadian fans, a Blue Jays victory would be more than just a championship banner. It would serve as symbolic push-back — an in-your-face assertion of national pride and defiance of an overwhelming, powerful neighbor. The cheers at Rogers Centre and the social media discourse surrounding the games will be an undeniable, if unofficial, expression of this emotion. We might see some poignant TV commercials, clever-but-angry signs held up in the crowd... you name it.

The Toronto Blue Jays will likely represent more than just the American League in this World Series. (Photo Credit: Daily Hive)

But of course, within this tension lies opportunity. In the spirit of sports diplomacy, these nations — who share the world’s longest undefended border and a massively integrated economy‚ could leverage the World Series as a chance to reconnect through shared passion of a great game. Will we see forward-looking ads, gestures of goodwill, or friendly banter between diplomats? Maybe... Maybe not.

Oh, and there’s another factor at play here: Shohei Ohtani is on the Dodgers. The two-way legend doesn’t have a role in this Canadian/American dynamic, of course… but his mere presence — and other international stars like Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Rōki Sasaki — will ensure that millions of fans in Japan and across East Asia will tune in. This will expose a wider audience to not only great baseball, but the subtle narratives of North American politics. This World Series will indeed be watched by the world. Whether it notices simmering tensions remains to be seen.

For most of us, it will still be about baseball — and we’ll be hoping for a fun, competitive series. But as Canadians continue to boycott American goods in the face of tariff threats and demeaning discourse, it could easily feel less like fun competition... and more like Canada’s sole MLB team has the chance to emphasize national emotions by having Canada crowned champions of America’s Pastime.