Annual baseball pilgrimage to U.S. cancelled amidst rising tensions

Tony Rinella's bus tour company takes Canadian baseball fans south of the border. (Tony Rinella)

Tony Rinella has good memories of his past trips south of the border. For the past 40 years, his tour company has taken busloads of Canadian baseball fans to see the Toronto Blue Jays play in the United States.

This annual pilgrimage started back in 1989 and Rinella has taken baseball fans from Manitoba to Minnesota, Chicago and Kansas City.

He was planning a U.S. trip for the beginning of June. Those heading on his baseball bus tour would see the Jays take on the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis.

But due to the current political climate between Canada and the U.S., he cancelled the trip.

“We do not feel comfortable sending a group of Canadian fans to the United States to participate in cheering on the Toronto Blue Jays amongst American fans who support their president where potential confrontations could arise,” part of a statement reads on Rinella’s website.

This would have been the first trip back to the U.S. for Rinella since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It saddens me that we have gotten to this point,” Rinella told CTV News. “Unless these tensions subside, I don’t know how things are going to get better.”

Rinella says he didn’t just cancel the trip due to the ongoing tensions between Canada and the U.S., bus for the rising U.S. dollar as well.

“Last year when we set this tour up, it was at 34 per cent, the exchange rate. It’s now at 47 per cent,” he says.

“I had to go back to my clients and say, ‘You have to pay another $175-$200 per person to go on this trip. Are you willing to do that?’ and they said, ‘no.’”

Data shows that Rinella is not the only one cancelling travel plans to the U.S.

Cross-border trips to U.S. drop: CBP data

Numbers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection show a drop of almost half a million visitors crossing land borders from Canada into the U.S. in February compared to last year.

The number of passengers travelling in a vehicle entering the U.S. dropped from 2,696,512 in February 2024 to 2,223,408 last month.

The number of cross-border travellers headed south in October, November, December and January were all above the numbers reported in the same month compared to last year.

A recent Leger survey also found 36 per cent of respondents with U.S. travel plans also said they already cancelled them.

Canadian tour companies impacted by lack of travel to U.S.

“They’re just not looking to travel to the U.S.,” says Tim Macdonell, the owner of Elite Sports Tours in Toronto.

His company slashed five of their eight baseball trips as interest to travel south fades.

“Since Trump has taken office, the feedback in terms of inquiries and bookings have been abysmal,” Macdonell said. “I don’t think this is something that is just going to go away. The damage has been done.”

As for Rinella, he isn’t giving up on his tours. He’s just making plans to see the Blue Jays play in Toronto.

“A flight to Toronto and three nights hotel is going to cost just as much as going down to Minneapolis. I’d rather fly to Toronto,” he said. “We love Americans, we love coming. We will come back, but it’s going to take some time to heal those wounds. It’s unfortunate that this has taken place.”