Cheryl Thompson (an Associate Professor of Performance at Toronto Metropolitan University) has written a couple of great articles on Jimmy Cliff and the roots of Toronto’s Reggae scene. The two articles appear in Spacing.
From the introduction…
On November 24, 2025, Jamaican reggae legend Jimmy Cliff (né James Chambers) died at age 81. Twenty years prior, Cliff became only the fourth reggae artist to receive the Order of Merit (2003) – the highest honour granted by the Jamaican government for achievements in the arts and sciences – and he remains one of two Jamaicans (Bob Marley being the other) inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (in 2010).
It was just one month prior that Jamaica was devasted by Hurricane Melissa, and in Toronto, the community responded with music. On November 6, the Jamaican Canadian Association held a relief concert, and on December 10, a Harmonies of Hope Bob Marley tribute concert at the Meridian Performing Art Centre was hosted by Kardinal Offishall and Brandon Gonez, and featured a lineup of Black Canadian artists.
On February 1, a Jimmy Cliff tribute concert, as led by Jay Douglas and the All Stars, took place at Harbourfront Centre as part of the annual KUUMBA Festival.
The outpouring of love and support has revealed how important Jamaica (and Jamaicans) are to Toronto (and Canada). In the 1970s, however, the community was very small, and reggae music was mostly unknown.
There have been many Canadian stories about Cliff since his passing, but few have told the story of the forty years he spent coming to Toronto. By looking back at a timeline of his performances, interviews, and films, and to the spaces, places, and challenges that helped to make reggae music what it is today, my aim is to bring into memory how a music from a Caribbean island survived political turmoil, and the death of a national hero to forever change Toronto’s music culture…
Source: Spacing
If you have an interest in the Caribbean, Toronto, Reggae, or Jimmy Cliff (or if you are just looking for a good read) have a look at them.
You can find the articles as follows:
About the author
Cheryl Thompson is a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Black Expressive Culture & Creativity, Associate Professor of Performance at Toronto Metropolitan University.
She is also author of Canada and the Blackface Atlantic: Performing Slavery, Conflict, and Freedom, 1812 – 1897 (2025), Uncle: Race, Nostalgia and the Politics of Loyalty (2021), and Beauty in a Box: Detangling the Roots of Canada’s Black Beauty Culture (2019), and can be reached on LinkedIn @cheryl-thompson-phd
See also Jimmy Cliff, reggae legend and star of The Harder They Come, dead at 81 | CBC News