By Anthony Joseph

After years of underfunding, the federal and provincial governments have finally stepped up. In response to a powerful advocacy campaign led by the Festival Management Committee (FMC), over $4.65 million in funding has now been committed to the Toronto Caribbean Carnival over the next two years, with $3.15 million coming directly from the federal government.

This is the single largest investment the festival has ever received.

Now comes the real test: Will the FMC deliver a festival worthy of this historic moment?

For decades, the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, formerly known as Caribana, has been a cultural crown jewel. Rooted in a gift from the Caribbean community to Canada during its Centennial in 1967, the festival has grown into North America’s largest cultural celebration.

It draws over two million visitors annually, contributes $467 million to Canada’s GDP, and supports more than 3,000 small businesses and over 3,300 jobs. Its value, both economically and culturally, is undeniable. And yet, the festival has long struggled with chronic underfunding and inadequate support.

In 2024, FMC Executive Chair Jennifer Hirlehey penned what she described as a “love letter” to the Government of Canada. It was more than a poetic gesture; it was a call to action, a desperate appeal to save a cultural institution that has given so much but asked for so little in return.

The letter reminded all levels of government that this wasn’t just about a parade. It was about equity. About recognition. About a community that, year after year, contributes to Canada’s multicultural identity and economic fabric, only to find its most cherished celebration teetering on the brink due to insufficient funding.

That plea didn’t fall on deaf ears.

Last Saturday, at the official launch of the 2025 Carnival in Scarborough, federal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree announced that the Liberal government would provide a staggering $3.15 million over two years.

Ontario, too, responded. Premier Doug Ford’s government is increasing its contribution from a paltry $125,000 to $1.5 million. With municipal contributions added, the festival is better funded than it has ever been in its 58-year history.

This is a triumph. But it also sets the bar.

With historic investment comes historic responsibility.

This is not the time for complacency or self-congratulations. This is the time to transform the Toronto Caribbean Carnival into a festival that truly serves the community that birthed it. One that lives up to its enormous cultural and economic potential, not just as an event, but as a movement.

No more excuses.

For years, organizers, supporters, and observers alike have defended the festival’s shortcomings, saying its fragmented programming, lack of transparency, declining community involvement and often disjointed execution by pointing to inadequate funding.

Now that the funds are coming, we must demand results. Excellence is no longer optional; it is the only acceptable outcome.

And excellence, in this case, must be defined not just by size or profit, but by impact and authenticity.

This is a call to the FMC: Raise the festival up. Deliver a Carnival that we can be proud of. Not just one recognized as Canada’s largest parade but one that functions as a powerful cultural engine for the Caribbean-Canadian community.

To do this, the goals of the Carnival must shift decisively from survival to community-rooted growth. We must begin to think beyond a single weekend or parade route and imagine a year-round ecosystem of cultural development.

The Carnival should support our community centres, senior homes, and elementary schools. It should engage our youth, our dancers, musicians, and artists, not just for a day of spectacle but for a lifetime of mentorship and opportunity.

We must teach our history, build our cultural confidence, and create platforms for economic advancement, starting in kindergarten, extending through high school, and culminating in real, tangible career opportunities within the cultural industries that this festival feeds.

This moment offers the perfect launchpad for transformation.

The FMC has already announced some promising changes. This year’s Grand Parade will extend its route to Coronation Park, where a “Carnival Village” will be hosted. This offers a new opportunity to expand cultural programming, involve more community vendors, and make the festival experience more inclusive and immersive.

But it must go further.

Imagine a year-round incubator program for young costume designers. Workshops hosted in it’s own community centres in Scarborough, Jane-Finch, Malvern, and Rexdale. Seniors sharing stories and traditions with youth in oral history circles. Scholarships for young steelpan musicians. Youth employment programs tied to mas’ camps, event logistics, and stage management.

This is what an inclusive, forward-thinking Carnival can look like. But none of this can happen without strong, accountable leadership. The FMC must not only manage these new resources responsibly. It must also open its doors to collaboration. There are many people in the community with the expertise and passion to contribute, but who have been sidelined or ignored for too long. The time for gatekeeping is over. This funding belongs not to the FMC, but to the community.

Stewardship demands humility, vision, and shared leadership.

To the government leaders who heard the call, thank you. Your support has given this festival a new lease on life. But let this be the beginning of a sustained partnership, not a one-time bailout.

As Minister Charmaine Williams correctly noted, the Carnival is more than an event. It is an economic driver, a symbol of Caribbean pride, and a celebration of Canada’s commitment to multiculturalism.

To the private sector: Now is your time to match this government commitment with corporate investment. Sponsor the organization, a youth program, a mas’ camp. Hire local talent. Fund cultural workshops. Show that your diversity slogans aren’t just words.

To the FMC: You’ve been heard. You’ve been backed. Now, it’s time to rise to the moment. Perform.

Create the legacy the community has always dreamed of. We have the culture, the talent, and now, the support. Let’s build something worthy of the ancestors who started this journey in 1967, and the children who will inherit it in 2067.

Let this year mark the rebirth of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, not as a once-a-year spectacle, but as a year-round movement of community pride, creativity, and economic power.

Let’s get to work.

Anthony Joseph is the publisher of The Caribbean Camera newspaper. He writes on politics, culture, and the intersection of race and democracy in Canada.

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