History
Prior to the 1999 season, the Vancouver Canadians Pacific Coast League franchise was purchased by a group led by Art Savage with the intention of relocating to Sacramento, California. [4] Despite winning the Pacific Coast League title and Triple-A World Series, the Canadians moved to California's capital city. Vancouver would not be without baseball as the Southern Oregon Timberjacks of the Northwest League announced relocation to fill the void in Vancouver. [5] The Canadians name resumed as members of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League in 2000.
Like the predecessor Pacific Coast League franchise, the new Canadians signed a player development contract with the Oakland Athletics. The Canadians had players such as Nick Swisher, Jeremy Brown, Jason Windsor, Joe Blanton, Rich Harden, Travis Buck, Dallas Braden, and Dan Straily during this period.
2007
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, former Washington Nationals executive Andy Dunn become the President and General Manager of the Canadians.
2010
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 the Toronto 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 first Northwest League title, defeating the Tri-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 the Boise Hawks, 12–9, to win the final series, 2–1.
2013
In August 2013, outfielder Kevin Pillar became the first alumnus of the team to play 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 the John 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]
2016
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, defeating Eugene, 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]
2018
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.
2020
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 the High-A West along with five other teams previously of the Northwest League. [14]
2022
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.
2023
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 Everett 3–1 to win their first High-A Northwest League Championship. [17]
2024
The 2024 season saw the Canadians again qualify for the playoffs, but they lost the championship series 3–1 to Spokane.
2025
In the 2025 season, the Vancouver Canadians set a new franchise record with an eight-game losing streak from May 15 to 23. [18] The skid began with a 5–4 home loss to the Everett AquaSox on May 15. During the same series, the Canadians also dropped both games of a May 18 doubleheader to Everett. They then traveled to Eugene, Oregon, where their struggles continued with four more losses to the Eugene Emeralds. The losing streak finally ended on May 24, when the Canadians shut out the Emeralds, 9–0, at PK 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 the Tri-City Dust Devils in Pasco, Washington, at Gesa Stadium. They matched their nine-game winning streak record on June 14 with a 6–1 home victory over the Spokane 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 to High-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. [19]
On August 13, the Canadians turned their first triple play in High-A franchise history against the Indians in Spokane. [20] A 1-6-3-2 double play that happened in the bottom of the 7th, where pitcher Aaron Munson threw to shortstop Arjun Nimmala, who then threw to first baseman Carter Cunningham, who threw home to catcher Edward Duran who tagged the runner out. [21]
