I thought jay-walking was specifically crossing against the lights at a controlled intersection. If there are no lights (within ~20 metres) it isn't jay-walking...[0]
[0] I could be completely wrong, and given the international audience I am probable both right and wrong.
As with most regulations like this, in the US it depends on the state. In Georgia, for example, you cannot cross the street outside of a crosswalk anywhere between two light-controlled intersections, but everywhere else is pretty much fine [1]. These laws have led me to act in such bizarre ways as crossing the street against the signal once all the traffic has passed but walking a couple feet outside of the crosswalk so that I'm not breaking the law.
In Toronto you can more or less cross where you want, as long as you're not interfering with lawful traffic. If you step in front of a car moving at the speed limit and get hit, it's your fault. If you make a car slow down even a little bit to avoid hitting you, you're at fault.
If there's a big enough gap that no cars have to slow down as you cross, you're good to go!
Legally should should walk to the crossing at the end of the block. But pragmatically you could just run across the road during a lull of traffic.