Nation Builder of the Year

2025 Nation Builder Award - Celebrating The Toronto Blue Jays

Nation Builder 2025 | Toronto Blue Jays | February 4, 2026

Established by the Empire Club of Canada, the Nation Builder Award honours a distinguished leader, organization, or group whose vision and work have made an outstanding contribution with lasting impact on the country. Past recipients include Prem Watsa, Wes Hall, Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser, Chief Perry Bellegarde, Canada’s Frontline Health Workers, and Masai Ujiri and the Toronto Raptors.

For more than a century, the Empire Club has convened the people and ideas shaping Canada’s future, and the Nation Builder Award is its signature recognition of those who unite, inspire, and strengthen the country for generations to come.

The Empire Club of Canada is proud to name the Toronto Blue Jays as the 2025 Nation Builder Award recipient, in recognition of the organisation’s extraordinary impact on Canadian culture, community, and pride. As Canada’s only Major League Baseball team, the Blue Jays have become a national institution, uniting fans from coast to coast to coast for nearly five decades.

Since their founding in 1977, the Blue Jays have brought Canadians together around unforgettable moments—from back-to-back World Series championships in 1992 and 1993 to their thrilling 2025 postseason run, when the team captured the American League Championship and the heart of a nation. Their story is about more than baseball; it is about teamwork, collective leadership, perseverance, shared values, and the power of big moments that bring Canadians together.

Under the ownership of Rogers Communications, which acquired the team in 2000 to keep its legacy firmly rooted in Canada, more than $8 billion has been invested in the franchise, including a $400 million transformation of Rogers Centre into a true ballpark experience for fans. Beyond the field, Jays Care Foundation leverages baseball as a powerful tool to build character, resilience, and a sense of belonging, providing opportunities to youth—especially those facing systemic barriers—across the country.

The 2025 Nation Builder Award will be presented to the Toronto Blue Jays at a special ceremony on February 4, 2026, at the Toronto Metropolitan Convention Centre in downtown Toronto. The event will feature a fireside chat with Mark Shapiro, President and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays, who will accept the award on behalf of the organization, along with special guests who will be announced shortly.

Hazel Mae, a member of Sportsnet’s Blue Jays broadcast team, will host an on-stage conversation with Shapiro, exploring how the Blue Jays’ recent run for the World Series, their community investments, and their status as “Canada’s team” reflect the strength and diversity of the nation. Tickets for in-person attendance are on sale now, and the event will also be livestreamed, making it accessible to fans and audiences around the world.

The Nation Builder Award celebrates those who help define what it means to be Canadian today—through shared experiences, inclusive communities, and contributions that endure beyond any single season or moment in time. By honouring the Toronto Blue Jays, the Empire Club of Canada recognizes the role of sport in uniting Canadians, inspiring the next generation, and building a more connected and confident country.

To attend the 2025 Nation Builder award ceremony, visit https://empireclubofcanada.com/event/2025-nation-builder-award-toronto-blue-jays/

To learn about sponsorship opportunities, or partnership activations connected to the 2025 Nation Builder Award, please contact jehan.mamdani@empireclub.org