WITH ALMOST 150,000 people of Trinidadian origin in Canada, the impact of this small group on Canadian culture and social life has been profound. The most evident impact has been in the field of popular culture. The pre-Lenten festival, Caribana (celebrated in Canada during the summer), introduces many non-Trinidadians to the imaginative artistic and musical creations associated with this event. At the Mas(querade) camps expert artisans build wire-framed costumes while steel pan masters teach music to young students. Apart from these special Trinidadians are the thousands who have migrated to Canada in search of a better life. They have provided Canada with a wealth of teachers, nurses, civil servants, lawyers, doctors, engineers, skilled artisans, and an understanding of living in a multicultural society.

Trinidad and Tobago are two islands in the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela. Most Trinidadians trace their origins to the island of Trinidad which has a population of 1.1 million people as compared to Tobago’s 50,000. At various times outposts of the Spanish, French, and English empires, Trinidad and Tobago have a complex mix of peoples from those former empires. Although there are still some people of white and mixed race backgrounds in positions of power, most Trinidadians trace their ancestry to other groups. African slaves were brought in to work the sugar plantations. Indian Hindus and Muslims, Chinese, and Portuguese were offered free passage to Trinidad in the 1840s in return for a fixed wage for five years of work. Trinidad’s social and cultural pluralism that has led to vibrant and extensive cultural activity has also created occasional tensions between the two largest groups – those of African and of South Asian heritage – who comprise almost evenly 80% of the population.

The earliest Trinidadians to come to Canada arrived in the 1920s to work in the Nova Scotian shipyards or as porters, labourers, or chefs on Canada’s various railway lines. Before 1967 it was difficult for Trinidadians to enter Canada because of the country’s rigid immigration laws. In the years between 1955 and 1965, for instance, just 100 Trinidadians entered Canada as domestics. A small group also came to Canada to study. Many enrolled at the University of Manitoba but often found Canada in hospitable. Until 1965 only 3,000 had immigrated to Canada. In the decades since the 1967 immigration rule changes, nearly 100,000 have immigrated to Canada from all racial backgrounds. Two-thirds have settled in Ontario, especially Toronto, Hamilton, and Windsor. Other communities flourish in Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton. In the last thirty years, most have arrived highly educated but have found it difficult to find employment in their areas of expertise because of discrimination and their lack of Canadian experience.

One way to offset the problems faced in Canada has been to establish voluntary organizations, church groups, and service associations such as the Trinidad-Canada Association, Caribana Association and the Indo-Caribbean Association. Also, a common Caribbean experience links people to other pan-Caribbean or pan-Black organizations such as the National Black Coalition, the United Negro Improvement Association, the Black Heritage Association, and the Caribbean Canadian Business and Professionals Association. Equally, Trinidadians have an active religious life. In particular, churches of Roman Catholic, Anglican, Baptist, and Presbyterian denominations count many Trinidadians as participants, especially those of French and African heritage. Asian-Indian Trinidadians have created several Muslim mosques and Hindu mundirs to attend to their spiritual needs.

The cultural activities of Trinidadians flourish in the areas of literature, theatre, and dance with prominent individuals such as Ramabai Espinet, Jeff Henry, Frank Birbalsingh, Sam Selvon, and Neil Bissoondath. The Caribbean Theatre Workshop in Toronto brings theatre and dance groups from Trinidad and the Caribbean to Canada. Trinidadian music has had considerable impact on Canadian popular music culture in night clubs in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver with styles as diverse as calypso, steel band, soca, and has influenced the emerging Hip Hop Canadian sound. While there has not yet been a specific Trinidadian press, people from Trinidad have been involved with such British West Indian and Caribbean newspapers as Contrast, Share, Indo-Caribbean World, Caribbean Camera, and Metro-World as well as the magazine Pride. As a result of their heritage in a diverse country, Trinidadians are well situated to play a critical role in Canada’s emerging multicultural nation building in the new millennium.