On Tuesday, Jose Iglesias will set foot in Canada for the first time since he made the decision that changed his life and set him on a path to Fenway Park.

The 21-year-old rookie will accompany the Red Sox to Toronto for a two-game series against the Blue Jays. It was on the opposite side of the country, in Edmonton, Alberta, in 2008, that Iglesias left behind his homeland.

During the days leading up to the World Junior Baseball Championship in Edmonton, Iglesias was mulling his future. As he prepared for the trip to Canada, Iglesias contemplated a measure that was irreversible: Defecting from his homeland in order to pursue both greater freedom and a more secure future.

“I talked about it with my dad in Cuba. He always said, whatever’s the best for me in my career and for my future, just do it,” Iglesias recounted on Monday. “I think it was a good idea to be over here in this country, especially to have the opportunity to play in the big leagues.”

He and teammate Noel Arguelles agreed to leave Team Cuba during the tournament. While the team was staying at a dorm on the campus of the University of Alberta, the pair snuck out into the late-July night.

It was a decision that would leave Iglesias unable to see any members of his family for more than a year. He embraced the unknown in order to create a better life and future for himself and his family – both those relatives whom he was leaving behind in Cuba, and future generations.

And so, Iglesias left behind life as he’d known it for 18 years.

“I didn’t know where I was going to go. I didn’t know anybody,” Iglesias said. “It’s difficult, especially at that time, I didn’t speak English very well. I was just looking for a cop to say, ‘Political asylum.’ After that, they took care of us.”

Iglesias accompanied the police to a local jail for a couple of hours, where his immigration papers were process while he sat in an office. He then contacted his family to let them know that he’d defected, and that he was fine.

“I called right that moment to my family and said, ‘I’m fine. I’m here in the USA, working hard for you guys. I promise I’m going to see you again soon,’” said Iglesias.

That, of course, was not entirely accurate. Iglesias would go 19 months before his father was permitted out of Cuba to join him in February. Yet as much as he longed to be with his family, Iglesias did not doubt that he made the right decision, and subsequent events have borne out that perspective.

After he established residency in the Dominican, Iglesias signed with a four-year, $8.25 million major league deal with the Red Sox in the summer of 2009. Less than two years later, he is – as a result of the injuries to Marco Scutaro and Yamaico Navarro – now a major leaguer. It is the fulfillment of everything he hoped for when he made the decision to defect in Edmonton.

“When you are focused on what you want in your career, everything good will happen to you,” said Iglesias. “It was [hard], especially when I was just 18 when that happened. It’s hard to leave your family in Cuba.

“But when you work for your future – I think I’m a very mature guy for my age. I know what I want. It’s this moment right now. I called my mom [Sunday] to say Happy Mother’s Day. She’s very happy, especially with my debut in the big leagues, on Mother’s Day.

“I said, ‘I give to you my first big league game.’ She said, ‘I knew that moment would come.’ She’s excited. She’s excited about this Mother’s Day.”

In the same vein, Iglesias – who scored the winning run in the Sox’ 2-1, 11-inning victory on Monday night – can be excited about going with the Red Sox to Toronto with a different passport than the one with which he traveled three years ago. The shortstop – who has a residence with his father, girlfriend and two-month-old son in Pawtucket – can reflect upon the dramatic changes that he’s experienced between that nerve-wracking prior trip to Canada and now.

“It’s a lot different, especially because I’ve got a couple [members] of my family here right now,”said Iglesias. “I’ve got my dad here. I’m very excited. I think family is very important, especially in baseball. You have a bad game, you go back home and you see your baby, you see your dad. That’s good support for coming back tomorrow and playing again.”