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| Vancouver Canadians | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Minor league affiliations | |||||
| Class | High-A (2021–present) | ||||
| Previous classes | Class A Short Season (2000–2020) | ||||
| League | Northwest League (2000–present) | ||||
| Major league affiliations | |||||
| Team | Toronto Blue Jays (2011–present) | ||||
| Previous teams | Oakland Athletics (2000–2010) | ||||
| Minor league titles | |||||
| League titles(5) |
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| Division titles(7) |
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| First-half titles(1) |
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| Second-half titles(2) |
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| Team data | |||||
| Colors | Red, dark red, black, silver, white | ||||
| Mascot | Bob Brown Bear[1] | ||||
| Ballpark |
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Owner/ Operator | Diamond Baseball Holdings[2] | ||||
| General manager | Allan Bailey | ||||
| Manager | José Mayorga[3] | ||||
| Website | milb.com/vancouver | ||||
TheVancouver Canadians are a professionalMinor League Baseball team based inVancouver, British Columbia. Founded in 2000 after the relocation of theSouthern Oregon Timberjacks to Vancouver, the Canadians are members of theNorthwest League and, since 2021, serve as theHigh-A affiliate of theToronto Blue Jays. The team plays its home games atNat Bailey Stadium.
The team's affiliation history includes a development partnership with theOakland Athletics from its inaugural season through 2010 before a transition to the Blue Jays' system in 2011. The 2020 season was cancelled due to theCOVID‑19 pandemic; during the subsequent minor‑league reorganization, Vancouver advanced from theClass A Short Season level to High‑A, joining the rebranded Northwest League.
Prior to the 1999 season, theVancouver Canadians Pacific Coast League franchise was purchased by a group led by Art Savage with the intention of relocating toSacramento, California.[4] Despite winning the Pacific Coast League title andTriple-A World Series, the Canadians moved to California's capital city. TheSouthern Oregon Timberjacks of theNorthwest League announced their relocation to Vancouver.[5] The team, a member of theClass A Short Season Northwest League, assumed the Canadians' name in 2000.
Like the predecessor Pacific Coast League franchise, the new Canadians signed a player development contract with theOakland Athletics.The Canadians had players such asNick Swisher,Jeremy Brown,Jason Windsor,Joe Blanton,Rich Harden,Travis Buck,Dallas Braden, andDan Straily during this period.
In 2007, local Vancouver businessmen Jake Kerr and Jeff Mooney purchased the Vancouver Canadians and secured a 25-year lease with the City of Vancouver Parks Board. Extensive work began that offseason in a full-scale stadium renovation which improved washrooms, concessions, concourses, and children's play area. Point-of-purchase concessions increased substantially.
In January 2008, formerWashington Nationals executive Andy Dunn become the President and General Manager of the Canadians.
In spring 2010, the Vancouver Canadians and Scotiabank announced a long-term partnership that would see Nat Bailey Stadium renamed to Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium.
The Canadians became the Short-Season A affiliate of theToronto Blue Jays following the 2010 season. The team's attendance rose to 162,162 in 2011, a team record. In September 2011, the Vancouver Canadians won their firstNorthwest League title, defeating theTri-City Dust Devils, 9–2, to win the final series, 2–1. The following year, the Vancouver Canadians became back-to-back champions for the first time in franchise history, defeating theBoise Hawks, 12–9, to win the final series, 2–1.
In August 2013, outfielderKevin Pillar became the first alumnus of the team to debut in the major leagues for Toronto.[6]
On September 9, 2013, the Canadians became just the third Northwest League team to win three straight championships, defeating the Boise Hawks, 5–0, at Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium to win the final series, 2–1, in front of a sellout crowd.[7] The 2013 season also saw the Vancouver Canadians draw over 195,000 fans to Scotiabank Field, a fifth consecutive team record which included 23 sold-out games.
On November 4, 2013, the Canadians were named the 2013 recipient of theJohn H. Johnson President's Award, given to Minor League Baseball's top organization. It was the first time a Canadian-based franchise won the award.[8]
In 2016, the Canadians led the Northwest League with a total attendance of 222,363, averaging 6,177 per game.[9] This earned them the 2016 Esurance "Home Field Advantage Award", given to the organization in each affiliated minor league with the greatest attendance per percentage capacity.[10] In 2017, the Canadians won another championship, defeatingEugene, 2–1, to win the series, 3–1.[11] They beat their previous record with 239,527 people in total attendance for the 2017 season, averaging 6,303 per game. On January 26, 2018, Toronto extended their player-development contract with Vancouver through the 2022 season.[12]
Although the Canadians were unable to make the playoffs in 2018, coming in a close second in both the first and second half of the season, they still lead the league in attendance with an impressive 239,086 in total attendance.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minor League Baseball season was cancelled. In the winter of 2020 as part the reorganization of minor league baseball, Vancouver received an invitation to continue as the Blue Jays'High-A affiliate.[13] In a further change, they were organized into theHigh-A West along with five other teams previously of the Northwest League.[14]
The team began the 2021 season playing its home games atRon Tonkin Field (the home field of theHillsboro Hops) inHillsboro, Oregon due to COVID-19 border restrictions.[15] The Canadians finished 5th in 2021, missing out on playoffs.
Prior to the 2022 season, the High-A West became known as the Northwest League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.[16] Vancouver finished 2nd in the 2022 season, qualifying for the first time to the new Northwest League playoffs system. Under the new playoffs system, a single best-of-5 series is played to determine the championship winner. Vancouver lost 3–0 to Eugene to finish runner-up.
In the 2023 season, the Canadians had the best overall record in the Northwest League at 77–54 and qualified for the playoffs by winning the first-half title with a 38–27 record. Vancouver defeated theEverett Aquasox 3–1 to win their first High-A Northwest League Championship.[17]
In 2023, Mooney and Kerr sold the team toDiamond Baseball Holdings, a private equity group that owns over 47 minor league baseball teams.[18]
The 2024 season saw the Canadians again qualify for the playoffs, but they lost the championship series 3–1 to Spokane.
In the 2025 season, the Vancouver Canadians set a new franchise record with an eight-game losing streak from May 15 to 23.[19] The skid began with a 5–4 home loss to theEverett AquaSox on May 15. During the same series, the Canadians also dropped both games of a May 18 doubleheader to Everett. They then traveled toEugene, Oregon, where their struggles continued with four more losses to theEugene Emeralds. The losing streak finally ended on May 24, when the Canadians shut out the Emeralds, 9–0, atPK Park.
In June, the Canadians set a new franchise record for consecutive wins. The streak began on June 5, with a 9–4 victory over theTri-City Dust Devils inPasco, Washington, atGesa Stadium. They matched their nine-game winning streak record on June 14 with a 6–1 home victory over theSpokane Indians in front of a sold-out crowd, and then set a new franchise record the following day with a 3–2 win over the Indians before another sold-out home crowd. The Canadians also swept the six-game series, marking the first time in Spokane Indians history that they had been swept since being promoted toHigh-A.
The franchise record was extended to an 11-game winning streak on June 17, 2025, with a 12–8 victory over the Emeralds at PK Park. The Canadians fell short on June 18 with an 8–1 loss, ending their record-setting winning streak. The Canadians had previously matched their nine-game winning streak three times in the past four years but had not been able to break that record until the 2025 season.[20] They finished the first-half with a 37–29 record, tied with Everett who got the playoff berth due to head-to-head tiebreaker.[21]
On August 13, the Canadians turned their first triple play in High-A franchise history against the Indians in Spokane.[22] A 1-6-3-2 triple play that happened in the bottom of the 7th, where pitcher Aaron Munson threw to shortstopArjun Nimmala, who then threw to first baseman Carter Cunningham, who threw home to catcherEdward Duran who tagged the runner out.[23] The Canadians missed the playoffs for the first time since 2021, when they placed second-place in the second-half, 11 games behind the Eugene Emeralds.
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The Canadians play their home games atNat Bailey Stadium which had hosted previous minor league teams.
| Season | League | Regular-season | Postseason | MLB affiliate | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record | Win % | League | Division | GB | Record | Win % | Result | ||||
| 2021 | A+W | 55–64 | .462 | 5th | — | 14 | — | — | — | Toronto Blue Jays | [24] |
| 2022 | NWL | 67–62 | .519 | 2nd | — | 14 | 0–3 | .000 | Won Second-Half title[25] LostNWL championship vs.Eugene Emeralds, 3–0[26] | Toronto Blue Jays | [27] |
| 2023 | NWL | 77–54 | .588 | 1st | — | — | 3–1 | .750 | Won First-Half title[28] WonNWL championship vs.Everett AquaSox, 3–1[28] | Toronto Blue Jays | [29] |
| 2024 | NWL | 68–61 | .527 | 2nd | — | 10+1⁄2 | 1–3 | .250 | Won Second-Half title[30] LostNWL championship vs.Spokane Indians, 3–1[31] | Toronto Blue Jays | [32] |
| 2025 | NWL | 75–57 | .586 | 2nd | — | 6 | — | — | — | Toronto Blue Jays | [33] |
| Totals | — | 342–298 | .534 | — | — | — | 4–7 | .364 | — | — | — |
| Year | Total Attendance | Average | Percent Change | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 109,576 | 2,884 | N/A | [34] |
| 2001 | 118,357 | 3,115 | +8.0% | [35] |
| 2002 | 127,099 | 3,345 | +7.4% | [36] |
| 2003 | 137,026 | 3,606 | +7.8% | [37] |
| 2004 | 140,037 | 3,685 | +2.2% | [38] |
| 2005 | 124,708 | 3,370 | –8.5% | [39] |
| 2006 | 123,878 | 3,260 | –3.3% | [40] |
| 2007 | 126,491 | 3,419 | +4.9% | [41] |
| 2008 | 129,073 | 3,585 | +4.9% | [42] |
| 2009 | 149,297 | 3,929 | +9.6% | [43] |
| 2010 | 154,592 | 4,068 | +3.5% | [44] |
| 2011 | 162,162 | 4,267 | +4.9% | [45] |
| 2012 | 164,461 | 4,445 | +4.2% | [46] |
| 2013 | 184,042 | 4,843 | +9.0% | [47] |
| 2014 | 180,187 | 4,870 | +0.6% | [48] |
| 2015 | 215,535 | 5,825 | +19.6% | [49] |
| 2016 | 222,363 | 6,177 | +6.0% | [50] |
| 2017 | 239,527 | 6,303 | +2.0% | [51] |
| 2018 | 239,086 | 6,292 | –0.2% | [52] |
| 2019 | 235,980 | 6,210 | –1.3% | [53] |
| 2020[Note 1] | - | - | - | [54] |
| 2021[Note 2] | 15,822 | 286 | - | [55] |
| 2022[Note 3] | 313,256 | 4,857 | +1879.88% | [55] |
| 2023 | 297,437 | 4,541 | –5.05% | [55] |
| 2024 | 274,892 | 4,262 | –7.58% | [56] |
| 2025 | 277,990 | 4,212 | +1.13% | [57] |
| Players | Coaches/Other |
|---|---|
Pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
| Manager
Coaches
|
In the 2019 season, radio rights moved fromCKST toCISLSportsnet 650. As part of the deal,Sportsnet Pacific also gained rights to air a package of Canadians games on television.[58]
| Preceded by | Northwest League franchise 2000–present | Succeeded by |
