TORONTO – With 55 victories and a two-game cushion atop the American League East, the Toronto Blue Jays are on track for a worst-to-first rebound this season.

The team has had significant contributions from unexpected sources while some big names have not performed up to expectations. Injuries have also been an issue but backups have often shone with the opportunity.

Here’s a look at five things to watch ahead of the unofficial start of the second half of the season on Friday night.

PLAYOFF PUSH

Never mind the wild-card series. The Blue Jays are aiming for a top-two finish in the AL standings and a direct berth in the divisional round.

Entering Friday’s series opener against the visiting San Francisco Giants, Toronto is just one game behind the West Division-leading Houston Astros and 3 1/2 games behind the Central Division-leading Detroit Tigers.

If the post-season started today, Toronto would be the top wild-card seed and host the Seattle Mariners in a best-of-three play-in round.

The wild-card series has not been kind to Toronto in recent years. The Blue Jays, who missed the playoffs with a 74-88 record last season, were swept by the Tampa Bay Rays (2020), Seattle Mariners (2022) and Minnesota Twins (2023) in their last three post-season appearances.

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Toronto hasn’t won a playoff game since reaching the AL Championship Series in 2016.

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SPRING SURGE

After a mediocre start to the season, the Blue Jays have come on strong over the last two months.

Toronto has posted a 39-21 record (.650 winning percentage) since May 8 and has led the major leagues in several offensive categories over that stretch.

The Blue Jays have won 13 of their last 17 games and 29 of their last 42.

BATTER UP

Addison Barger, Eric Lauer, Nathan Lukes, Ernie Clement and Brendon Little have emerged as key players for the Blue Jays this season.

Barger is second on the team with 13 homers while Lukes is hitting .276 with a .371 OBP. Clement has a .288 average and offers strong defence with positional versatility.

Lauer, meanwhile, has become a reliable member of the starting rotation. With a 4-2 record and 2.78 ERA, the journeyman southpaw helped filled the void when Max Scherzer was out with a thumb issue.

Little (4-1, 2.03 ERA) leads the squad with 45 appearances and has held opponents to a .184 average.

BIG GUNS

Bounce-back seasons from George Springer (.270 BA, 16 homers, 53 RBIs) and Bo Bichette (.282 BA, 12 homers, 53 RBIs) have helped restore some pop to Toronto’s offence.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who signed a 14-year, US$500-million extension in April, has been steady if unspectacular while Alejandro Kirk has blossomed in a full-time catcher role.

Those successes have helped mitigate some of the challenges the team has faced due to injury and underperformance.

Slugger Anthony Santander (shoulder) struggled mightily before landing on the injured list. Second baseman Andres Gimenez (ankle), centre-fielder Daulton Varsho (hamstring) and setup man Yimi Garcia (ankle) are some of the other notable names on the IL.

The Blue Jays could get a boost as early as next month if right-hander Alek Manoah (elbow surgery) continues his progression after elbow surgery. He finished third in AL Cy Young Award voting in 2022.

COMING UP

Toronto will close out its six-game homestand next week with a big three-game series against the second-place New York Yankees.

That will be followed by a four-game set in Detroit against the Tigers, who lead the major leagues at 59-38.

Blue Jays fans will also be keen to see if general manager Ross Atkins can swing some deals ahead of the MLB trade deadline on July 31.

Toronto will close out its regular season on Sept. 28 against Tampa Bay.

The Blue Jays have an 83.4-per cent chance of making the playoffs, per FanGraphs projections. The website gives Toronto a 37.1-per cent chance of winning the East and a 4.6-per cent shot at winning its first World Series title since 1993.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 16, 2025.

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The group of Ontario First Nations taking the federal and provincial governments to court over fast-track legislation, which will sidestep or suspend a range of legal protections, says the Crown is failing in its duties.

A lawyer representing the coalition of nine First Nations filed a legal application against both the Ford and Carney governments on Monday evening. The action looks to have a court rule the entirety of Ontario’s Bill 5 unconstitutional, as well as large parts of the federal government’s Bill C-5.

At Queen’s Park on Wednesday, four of the First Nations leaders involved spoke about their concerns with Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Prime Minister Mark Carney’s approach.

“I would say they’re less informed,” Alderville First Nation Chief Taynar Simpson said. “I would say they need to do some homework on these issues. They need to go back to the history books, they need to listen to elders, they need to listen to First Nations.”

The Ford government passed Bill 5 in June, which allows it to create special economic zones where municipal and provincial laws can be suspended.

Similarly, Bill C-5 allows the federal cabinet to quickly grant federal approvals for big projects deemed to be in the national interest, like mines, by sidestepping existing laws.

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The legal action filed against both bills involves nine of Ontario’s 134 First Nations. They said Wednesday they believed others supported their push but needed to get the action off the ground quickly.

Chief June Black, who represents the Apitipi Anicinapek Nation, whose land is subject to a number of mining claims, said that the two governments’ handling of their first-track legislation was problematic.

“Speeding through projects and exempting projects from approvals is far from honourable,” she said. “Approving projects without the consent of First Nations people who have been on this land forever is even less honourable.”

In response to the legal action, a spokesperson for the Ontario premier’s office said the government remained focused on meaningful engagement with First Nations on Bill 5.

“We will continue to build consensus with First Nations on shared priorities including legacy infrastructure, all-season roads, and resource development, that support long-term prosperity,” they said in a statement.

“We have begun productive conversations with First Nations who share our vision of unlocking economic opportunity and critical infrastructure in their community and will continue these consultations throughout the summer.”

A spokesperson for the federal Privy Council Office said they wanted to push the legislation forward “in partnership with Indigenous Peoples.”

“Canada is committed to upholding commitments and obligations under the UN Declaration Act and constitutionally protected rights, including Aboriginal and treaty rights,” they wrote. “The Building Canada Act ensures that Indigenous Peoples whose rights may be affected are consulted at key stages: before a project is designated as being in the national interest, before the issuance of the conditions document, and before any amendment to the conditions document.”

In Ontario, the Ford government has found itself apologizing twice to First Nations leaders since Bill 5 was passed.

First, Premier Ford made comments about First Nations “coming cap in hand,” for which he apologized. Then, his environment minister had to issue an apology after he asked the federal government to stand down clean drinking water legislation.

The government’s comments, Chief Simpson suggested, have made it harder for First Nations to get down to full consultations.

“When we met with Doug Ford, that was one day after he made those ‘hat in hand’ comments, so unfortunately, that discussion probably took up more time than we would have liked,” he said on Wednesday.

“I felt like instead of talking business about Bill 5, I needed to address why we have duty to consult, why we have these protections. So I went with the historic lesson. So instead of talking about business, I was talking about history. I think the Bill 5 discussion got a bit hijacked by his comments.”

Kate Kempton, lead counsel for the group, said it could take a year for hearings on the legal action to begin.

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A group of Quebec doctors is warning that poor air quality can cause long-term adverse health effects.

The Quebec chapter of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment also believes decision makers are underestimating the impact of air pollution.

Montreal, Toronto and Quebec City have all experienced poor air quality this week due in part to winds from the west bringing smoke from forest fires in the Prairies and northern Ontario.

Group president Claudel Pétrin-Desrosiers says exposure to fine particles can affect every organ in the body, increasing the risk of everything from premature dementia to lung, heart and kidney problems.

Pétrin-Desrosiers believes decision makers in Quebec need to do more to control polluting companies in order to protect people’s health.

She said many people have the impression that air quality issues are “far away” and only impact people in places such as India or China, but that’s not the case.

“If it takes smog episodes where we experience some of the worst air quality in the world to make us realize that we aren’t immune to these impacts, I hope it will generate conversation and, of course, stricter regulations to address these issues,” Pétrin-Desrosiers said.

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“Because we need government regulations, we need to set standards for industry, we need constant vigilance, and we need to be able to communicate these risks.”

When air quality is poor, young and healthy people will experience minor health effects, such as stinging eyes or a sore throat. People with heart or lung problems need to be extra careful since they’re more prone to complications.

Scientific literature shows that when there is more air pollution, there are more deaths from heart disease and stroke, and more people with respiratory problems who have to go to the hospital. In addition, regular exposure to high levels of air pollution can increase the risk of certain types of cancer.

“This is a serious health concern because exposure is somewhat involuntary — we don’t really have a choice about breathing,” Pétrin-Desrosiers said. “And when there are episodes of increased concentration of air pollutants in the atmosphere, it can have harmful short- and long-term effects on the body,” Pétrin-Desrosiers.

In Quebec, air pollution causes 4,000 premature deaths per year, according to a 2021 Health Canada report. This results in costs of more than $30 billion per year for the Quebec health-care system, the document states.

“That’s significant,” says Dr. Pétrin-Desrosiers. “And part of that is related to smog episodes caused by forest fire smoke, but it’s also because our air quality standards are less strict than those recommended by the World Health Organization, particularly for fine particles.”

People are advised to avoid strenuous exercise during smog episodes, as well as limit time outdoors and close windows when inside.

Properly fitted N95 masks can also help, especially for people with asthma or other chronic conditions.

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