Caribbean Canadian Investment Summit set to open new doors in Toronto
Key Points(5)
- On Thursday, something quietly historic happens in Markham, Toronto.
- The numbers behind this summit tell their own story.
- Canada has poured CAD $384 billion in direct investment into the Caribbean.
- Bilateral trade between Canada and CARICOM countries sits at CAD $5.7 billion a year.
- Diaspora remittances crossed US$165 billion in 2024.
On Thursday, something quietly historic happens in Markham, Toronto. The Caribbean Canadian Investment Summit & Trade Forum officially launches at XinFlix Studios, located at 421 Bentley Street in Markham — and for thousands of Caribbean nationals who have spent decades building lives, businesses, and families in Canada, it may feel like the room they have always needed finally exists.
The numbers behind this summit tell their own story. Canada has poured CAD $384 billion in direct investment into the Caribbean. Bilateral trade between Canada and CARICOM countries sits at CAD $5.7 billion a year. Diaspora remittances crossed US$165 billion in 2024. Canada sends 3 million tourists to the region every year. The relationship has always been there. What's been missing is a place to take it further. That place is now being built.
Donna Fanfair, the Summit's President, is direct about what this event is — and what it isn't.
"The Summit is designed as a working forum rather than a traditional conference," she says. "We want people to leave with more than a business card. We want them to leave with relationships, opportunities, and a clear pathway to action," she told Caribbean National Weekly.
Fanfair's vision goes beyond the two days in September. Her team will track every agreement, every partnership, and every deal that comes out of the summit, following up to ask the hard questions. Were jobs created? Were investments advanced? Did anything actually change?
"The Caribbean does not suffer from a lack of talent," she says. "What it needs is more pathways connecting talent to opportunity — and CCISTF exists to help build those pathways."
Ben Johnson: "The Caribbean has always produced world-class people"
Jamaican-born Canadian sprinting legend Ben Johnson, who has confirmed his attendance at Thursday's launch, doesn't need a long speech to make his point.
"The Caribbean has always produced world-class talent, resilience, and innovation," he says. "What excites me about this Summit is that it is creating more opportunities for investment and trade between Canada and the Caribbean. I fully support this initiative — it lays the foundation for increased collaboration and economic growth across the Caribbean and its diaspora."
Coming from a man who carried Canada on his back on the world stage, that endorsement means something.
For Sandy Daley, broadcaster, author, and the Summit's Head of Media and Strategic Communications, the decision to get involved was never really about business.
"Too often, the opportunities and partnerships needed to accelerate Caribbean success remain disconnected," she says. "I saw this as an opportunity to contribute my voice and my platform to a movement that has the potential to create lasting impact," she shared.
She has spent her career telling Jamaican stories — on radio, in print, and through books she has authored. This summit, she says, is a chance to do more than tell those stories. It's a chance to change them.
"For me, this is about more than business. It is about legacy, empowerment, and helping to build a future where Caribbean excellence is recognized, celebrated, and invested in on a global scale," she said.
Thursday's event is not a closed-door affair for executives and ministers. Fanfair is clear that the room belongs to the whole community — entrepreneurs, students, professionals, retirees, and anyone who cares about where the Caribbean goes next. If you have ever wondered whether your skills, your network, or your ideas could connect to something bigger, this is the room to be in.
