War, argued the 19th-century Prussian military theorist Carl von Clausewitz, is “the continuation of politics by other means”. And as Canada’s largest city braces for a pivotal baseball showdown against a powerful, superstar-laden and well-funded American counterpart, there is a growing sense across the country that the same can be said for sports.
Over the last year, Canada has been locked in a diplomatic and economic standoff with its longtime ally, biggest trading partner and, increasingly, its largest foe. On Friday, the country’s lone major league baseball team, the Toronto Blue Jays, will face off against the Los Angeles Dodgers in a confrontation Canadians see as both an assertion of its growing dominance in baseball and a statement of national pride.
