As the Blue Jays' post-season heats up, 1 of team's founders watches proudly from P.E.I.

The Toronto Blue Jays are on the verge of their first playoff series victory in nearly a decade. 

It's a proud time for Blue Jays fans across the country, including here on P.E.I., where one of the driving forces behind creation of the team has been eagerly watching the series. 

Don McDougall is a founding director of the Jays and was key player in bringing the franchise to Toronto back in the 1970s.

"It's quite thrilling and I must say, like everyone else, I'm filled with hope," McDougall said while speaking with CBC's Island Morning. 

Game 3 of the American League Division Series is Tuesday night, with Toronto holding 2-0 series lead over the New York Yankees in the best-of-five series. The Jays need just one more win to move on to the next playoff round, the American League Championship Series (ALCS).

All these years later, McDougall still watches the team and said it's been exciting to experience the ebbs and flows, wins and losses over the years. 

"Of course this year it's been so exciting to follow it." 

McDougall, who owns Mill River Resort and was the former president of Labatt, was born and raised on the Island. He now lives in Ebbsfleet, P.E.I.

He was named to the Order of Canada in 2023 "for his visionary leadership as the founding director of the Toronto Blue Jays club, and for his entrepreneurship and philanthropy," McDougall's citation read at the time. 

McDougall was tasked with bringing a Major League Baseball team to Toronto and was part of the team that secured a franchise for the city in 1976.

"At that time we were primarily focused on getting Major League Baseball for Toronto," McDougall said. 

"We got caught up in it, of course, and I think we were very successful in putting together a good