A Toronto MPP is calling on the province to invest in the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, an event she claims is in desperate need of emergency funding.
On Monday, MPP for Toronto-St. Paul’s Dr. Jill Andrew said the existence of the popular festival is in jeopardy unless it receives proper, sustainable multi-year funding at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
The annual festival is held every summer in Toronto with the grand parade usually happening over the August long weekend at the Exhibition Place grounds. Formerly known as Caribana, the festival was created 57 years ago to showcase Caribbean culture, and is now North America’s largest cultural festival.
Andrew said the carnival brings in half a billion dollars in revenue to Ontario’s GDP, creates 4,000 jobs and supports 3,000 small businesses. The annual event costs roughly three million to produce, however the provincial government only provides $125,000 of funding.
“We’re calling for more. This is not about a handout. This is about investing in a festival, in a carnival, in a display, in a prominent display like none other in North America of culture that also contributes handsomely to the economic bottom line. To the creation of thousands of direct jobs. To the support of thousands of small businesses,” Andrew told Now Toronto on Thursday.
The Festival Management Committee, run by the Toronto Carnival, is demanding $2 million annually for the next three years in order for the Caribbean Carnival to survive. In addition, the Toronto Caribbean Carnival has created a petition calling on all levels of government for further support.
“We, the undersigned, call upon the City of Toronto, the Government of Ontario and the Government of Canada to provide the Toronto Caribbean Carnival with the financial support it deserves, in recognition of its cultural, economic, and social impact,” the petition read.
Andrew says Ontario Premier Doug Ford promised to provide support for the festival earlier this summer, but is questioning how much funding he’ll provide and when he’ll deliver.
“My question is how much support will come? And when will that support come? Because what we’ve learned from Toronto Caribbean Carnival, what we’ve learned from Toronto Outdoor Picture Show, frankly, and other festivals and other organizations, is the government often makes funding announcements really late,” Andrew said.
“And what that does is it places these festivals into a place of having to shell out thousands of dollars of their own personal dollars, often going into debt on credit cards to be able to fund their festival with no guarantee that they’re going to get funding from the government,” she continued.
According to Andrew, the request for more funding has been submitted months ago to the provincial government for consideration.
The MPP goes on to say that the festival brings in 2.3 million visitors every year and is a clear economic driver in the province’s tourism industry, which is why it is imperative that the city maintains the identity, the culture and the impact of the festival.
“You cannot have a carnival without costumes. You cannot have a carnival without performing live, without influencers coming to our province to document the work that’s happening during the carnival, the artistry,” Andrew explained.
On Wednesday, the province released its 2024 Fall Economic Statement outlining new initiatives addressed at making life more affordable. However, Andrew says the statement did not involve new funding for festivals, artists or cultural workers.
“The Fall Economic Statement would have been a good time to have expressed good news to the people at the Toronto Caribbean Carnival. With it not being done yesterday (Oct. 30), I asked myself, when will it be done?” she questioned.
In response, the government says it recognizes the social and economic benefits that all festivals contribute across the province.
“That is why we will continually work closely with organizations like the Toronto Caribbean Carnival so they can thrive,” a spokesperson from the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Gaming said in a statement to Now Toronto.
The next Toronto Caribbean Carnival will take place from July 31 to Aug. 4, 2025.
