Baseball fever has reached the Arctic.
In Canada’s northernmost city, fans are packing The Storehouse Bar and Grill in Iqaluit to cheer on the Toronto Blue Jays’ playoffs and World Series run.
Valerie Hill, the bar’s general store manager, said fan turnout has been unlike anything she has seen in her two years running the spot.
“Our bar can hold 215 people, but for Game 7 (ALCS against the Seattle Mariners), it was standing room only,” Hill said. “I think our counter guy lost track after 180 people.”
She said tourists have come by asking whether the bar has heard of the Blue Jays and if they can put the game on their TVs, as though being more than 2,000 kilometres away from Toronto means they wouldn’t know anything about the team.
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To them, she says, “Look around! We love the Blue Jays,” she said with a laugh. The bar has eight TV screens, all of which are regularly used to show sports events.
The Storehouse, which first opened its doors 22 years ago, usually sports a cabin-like vibe. It is decorated with polar bear hides, muskox and caribou heads.
Now, it has become a baseball haven with loads of blue and white balloons, Blue Jays posters, and even a newly revamped menu featuring Jays-themed food and drinks.
“It’s kind of funny being up here though, because we don’t have overnight shipping,” she said. “So, once they made the playoffs, trust me, it was a scramble right to Amazon to try to get things shipped up here.”
She said the bar has also put in an order of Blue Jays T-shirts, unofficially becoming the staff uniform for the week as the team competes in the World Series against the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
When the Blue Jays clinched their spot in the World Series, Hill said the celebration in the bar was so lively it could have been mistaken for one in downtown Toronto.
“You would have thought we actually won the World Series,” Hill said. “Big guys, little guys, picking each other up, hugging. I think I saw tears. I personally shed a couple.”
Hill said she has been a longtime sports fan and her family has always been superfans of the Toronto team. Now, she feels the Blue Jays’ success is bringing the small Arctic community together.
“Sometimes we feel like we’re just up here all alone,” she said. “So to get recognized outside of Nunavut is amazing for us.”
As the World Series continues, Iqaluit is hoping the Jays can win the best-of-seven showdown and give fans up there another reason to celebrate.
“Come on Jays. Let’s bring home a W. This whole place would just be absolutely wild,” Hill said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press