by Stephen Weir

Thea Jackson had a terrific opening last week. Standing amongst her section at the ‘Epic Carnival’ band launch she is happy signing up new revellers who want to ‘Walk De Road’ at Toronto Caribbean Carnival Grand Parade on August 2nd.

Still, with only 5 months to go the consumer designer/creator is troubled. Where are the Americans? Jackson has long been making costumes for Americans, be it here in Toronto, or at carnival festivals in Miami, Atlanta and in the Caribbean.

“Epic has really got it all together, they are a fantastic (Mas Band). We assume that many American and people from the Caribbean will come to Mas Camp to order new carnivals and jump up with us on the road. But it is a guessing game: will our fans in the USA be concerned about border crossing into Canada and then returning back to the US, because of the Trump issues?” Jackson mused.

While specific data on the number of American visitors to Toronto during the August 1st long weekend isn’t publicly available, we can infer from broader statistics. In August 2024, U.S. residents made approximately 3.2 million trips to Canada, with 63.3 per cent arriving by automobile and 20.6 per cent by air.

Notably, the busiest air entry points included Toronto Pearson International Airport and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, indicating a significant influx of U.S. visitors to Toronto during that period. Over the long weekend preceding the Civic Holiday on August 5, 2024, there was a noticeable increase in U.S. resident arrivals by air, averaging 26,600 per day. This represents a 39.9 per cent increase compared to the daily average for the rest of the month.

According to Toronto Tourism the number of Americans now visiting the city is already down by 5 percent.

The Caribbean Camera spoke to a Detroit-based British immigrant who is now a naturalized American and often comes to Canada for weekend vacations. He is a legal visitor and says when he returns from visiting Canada he has no issues with American customs officers because he carries all the decimation to prove he is American. He is coming to Carnival and hopes other Americans will do the same (he recommends bringing proof of their citizenship)

Why the concern about crossing the border by Americans? A recent front page story in the Washington Post investigative report highlighted troubling instances where Black immigrants in the U.S. have faced questionable detentions and deportations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), often under dubious or discriminatory circumstances.

The Carnival Nationz mas band has long welcomed visiting black Americans into the ranks of their winning band. Just coming off a very successful launch, Nationz reported that mas players’ have shown great interest in joining up. As for the number of Americans, they seem to be taking a wait-and-see attitude.

But it’s not just about Americans coming to Toronto to buy costumes, the festival also attracts a lot of picture-snapping visitors from south of the border.

The first Grand Parade took place in 1967 and was attended by a crowd of about 50,000 people, while today, an estimated 1.3 million, many of them are black American tourists. The Toronto Caribbean Carnival/Festival draws in an approximate 2 million people during its three-week span in Toronto.

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