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Check Out Our New Blog Posts!
Dear Friends of the Canada-Caribbean Institute:
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This is the second summer edition of 2026. While we've slowed the pace of our newsletter for several weeks there is still plenty going on. Here are some of the news stories and announcements that we have been following. We will return to our previous frequency of updates as we move into September.
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If you enjoy receiving this newsletter, please consider forwarding it to those in your networks who might also find it interesting... and tell them to subscribe.
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If you have a story, or ideas for relevant content, that you think we should look at, please do not hesitate to get in touch,
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‘A critical crossroads’: who is the woman vying to become the first Caribbean head of the UN?
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by Natricia Duncan, The Guardian August 19, 2026 If elected, Guyanese politician Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett wants to prioritise climate issues and ensure the United Nations remains a force for good As the Guardian’s Caribbean correspondent, I sometimes encounter stories that everyone is talking about in the region, but are not on the radar of the international media. Today, I’m taking over …
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N.L., Quebec announce new Churchill Falls agreement worth billions — with help from Ottawa
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Federal government to provide $10B in financing for electricity projects Juanita Mercer · CBC News Aug 17, 2026 Ottawa is calling it the largest clean energy investment in North American history. Prime Minister Mark Carney was in St. John’s on Monday to announce a new agreement on Churchill Falls and other electricity projects in Labrador, alongside N.L. Premier Tony Wakeham and Quebec …
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Latest Edition of Caribbean Trade and Development Digest
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New from Alicia Nicholls. https://caribbeantradelaw.com/2026/08/16/caribbean-trade-development-news-digest-august-8-15-2026/
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Canadian Cultural Producer Strengthens Fashion and Cultural Ties Between Guyana and the Diaspora
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By Staff Reporter, August 2, 2026 By Frederick Halley CANADIAN cultural producer and international event strategist, Vanessa Sonia Lachman, continues to build meaningful bridges between Guyana and the global diaspora through fashion, culture and creative collaboration. Founder of Threads of the World, a multicultural fashion and cultural platform based in Canada, Lachman recently returned from a productive visit to Guyana, where …
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CARICOM IMPACS and partners disrupt transnational smuggling and seize US$54.5 million in illicit assets
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August 14, 2026 The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), in coordination with regional and international partners, has successfully completed Operation Eclipse. Executed during the month of May 2026, the intensive, intelligence-led maritime operation disrupted multi-jurisdictional smuggling loops and stripped transnational organised criminal groups (OCGs) of an estimated US$54.5 million in illicit assets and contraband. Supported …
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Screen Share: Caribbean Stories, Collective Power
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Caribbean cinema is coming to Toronto, and the full ScreenShare 2026 programme is here.65+ films. Canadian premieres. 20+ countries represented. Six days of powerful Caribbean storytelling. Presented by the CaribbeanTales International Film Festival and the Caribbean Film Festival.From Opening Night on September 8 to our closing Awards Ceremony on September 13, every screening block has been curated around a theme, …
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Canada–Guyana Trade Mission | October 2026
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The Canada–Guyana Chamber of Commerce (CGCC) is pleased to announce our upcoming Canada–Guyana Trade Mission, led by a Canadian Minister (TBD), taking place in Guyana the week of October 19, 2026. As commercial ties between Canada and Guyana continue to grow, this mission will provide a platform for Canadian and Guyanese businesses, investors, industry leaders, and key stakeholders to connect, …
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Canadian and Caribbean tourism leaders come together at George Brown Polytechnic to build a more resilient future
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August 5, 2026 Tourism leaders from Canada and the Caribbean gathered at George Brown Polytechnic (GBP) to explore how collaboration and shared knowledge can strengthen the sector's future. The Canadian-Caribbean Tourism Resilience Symposium: Co-Designing the Next Decade, held July 29–30 at Limberlost Place, brought together tourism leaders, researchers, community partners, and representatives from related sectors, including shipping and transportation, such …
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Opinion – The art of the long game: Trinidad & Tobago and Caribbean statecraft at the United Nations
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By: Andy Knight & Winston Dookeran Published: 6 August 2026 In the days following Trinidad and Tobago’s overwhelming election to the United Nations Security Council, much attention has been paid to the result. Yet the more interesting story lies not in the 181 votes cast for the twin island state at the UN General Assembly in New York on 3 …
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Why Emancipation Day in the Caribbean is becoming a reckoning with slavery’s legacy
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By Jacqueline Charles August 1, 2026 GROS ISLET, SAINT LUCIA Throughout the English-speaking Caribbean—and in Canada—Aug. 1 is observed as the day the British Empire’s official abolition of slavery took effect in 1834. But as former British colonies mark Emancipation Day on Saturday, Caribbean leaders and activists pushing for reparatory justice say it’s also time to confront an overlooked truth about …
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Caribbean bears brunt of £43bn climate-fuelled damage to developing islands
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Natricia Duncan July 29, 2026 Findings can inform conversations about global climate reparations and financing for mitigations, researchers say Caribbean nations suffered $53.2bn (£40bn) of damage from climate-fuelled disasters between 2000 and 2024, research into the cost of the climate crisis to developing small islands has found. The figure is more than 90% of the total $57bn in economic damage …
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Caribbean Development Bank Supports Feasibility Study for Regional Stock Exchange
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Jul 27, 2026 The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB/the Bank) has approved a grant of US$100,000 to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Private Sector Organization Inc. (CPSO) to support a study that will assess the feasibility and inform the design of a Regional Stock Exchange for participating states of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). Funded through CDB’s Special Development Fund (SDF) 11, …
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‘Carnival was never respectable’: How Toronto mas camps are reclaiming the body, power and public space this Carnival season
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As Toronto Carnival nears, Northern Jumbies and Blue Devils Mas Camp are looking beyond feathers and sequins to preserve the folklore, traditions and resistance that shaped the celebration. July 31, 2026 Janiece Campbell What to know Toronto Carnival is more than costumes and music — traditional mas characters carry stories of resistance, resilience and cultural survival from across the Caribbean. …
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Almost All of Canada’s ‘ACB’ PhD Immigrants Are African. Here’s How They’re Doing
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In the 2021 Census, Canada counted 165 foreign-trained ACB PhD holders of working age. How are they faring? July 27, 2026 (Waterloo) – New analysis of Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census shows African- and Caribbean-born immigrants who arrive in Canada with a doctorate already in hand are stuck, unemployed at 4 times the rate of Canadian-born PhDs, and 1 in 5 working …
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The Mighty Terra leaves a legacy that echoes across Saint Lucia and Canada
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July 28, 2026 To generations of Saint Lucians, Pancruce Theodore was more than a calypso legend. He was the voice that challenged governments, celebrated ordinary people and helped define the island's modern calypso movement. For hundreds of Caribbean families in Ottawa, he was also the respected community elder who quietly nurtured cultural pride, mentored younger generations and proved that excellence …
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Haiti sets Dec. 13 date for first national election in a decade
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Juhakenson Blaise Jul. 28, 2026 The Provisional Electoral Council authorities publish a long-awaited calendar after weeks of criticism over the lack of an official timetable, scheduling the first round of the vote for Dec. 13, with a runoff on Feb. 21, 2027 Overview: Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council has released a revised electoral calendar scheduling the first round of presidential and …
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Belize Policy Research Institute at the University of Belize launched its landmark report, Money in Belizean Politics: Breaking the Regulation Deadlock
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BELPRI-UB LAUNCHES REPORT ON MONEY IN BELIZEAN POLITICSFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEBELIZE CITY, Belize, 28 July 2026The Belize Policy Research Institute at the University of Belize (BELPRI-UB) today , at the Belize City House of Culture.Produced in-house by BELPRI-UB’s Executive Director Dylan Vernon and Policy Analyst Devon Paulino, the Report provides the first comprehensive independent assessment of Belize's status as one of …
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Sixty years of Jamaican farmworkers in Canada
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July 24, 2026 When Victor Robinson boarded a flight to Canada on July 23, he wasn’t simply beginning another growing season. He was continuing a journey that has spanned nearly four decades. For the 67-year-old Jamaican from Clarendon, this marks his 38th year in the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP). This initiative has transformed not only his own life, but …
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George Brown Polytechnic brings Canadian and Caribbean tourism leaders together to build a more resilient future for the sector
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TORONTO, July 28, 2026 /CNW/ -- George Brown Polytechnic's Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC), in partnership with the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), will bring together tourism leaders from Canada and the Caribbean for the Canadian-Caribbean Tourism Resilience Symposium: Co-Designing the Next Decade on July 29 and 30, 2026, at Limberlost Place. "This symposium was built by listening to the …
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Saving Caribbean Citizenship by Investment: Sam Bayat on why reform has to start with the politicians, not the applicants
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July 21, 2026 Caribbean News Global CANADA / UAE - As the European Commission's 2028 deadline for phasing out Eastern Caribbean Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programs approaches, the five Caribbean governments involved (Saint Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda) have moved quickly to show Brussels they are serious about reform. Caribbean News Global (CNG) sat down …
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Carnival Blues - 23-24, 2026 University of Toronto
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The Art Museum is thrilled to present a celebratory cycle of programming titled Carnival Blues to mark the conclusion of the exhibition Land. Sea. Sugar. Salt.: Terrestrial and Aquatic Contemplations of the Caribbean. Guest-curated by Bushra Junaid and Natalie Wood, the program is inspired by the exhibition’s multifaceted geographical, historical, environmental, cultural and deeply personal reflections on the Caribbean region. As Bushra and …
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About the the Canada-Caribbean Institute (CCI)
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The CCI is a collaboration between Caribbean and Canadian universities and colleges. The mission of the Institute is to provide a forum:
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to connect academic institutions, scholars, the business and public sectors, civil society, the cultural and diaspora communities
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to inform and encourage collaboration across Canada and the Caribbean to advance important social, environmental, and economic issues that are vital to the shared prosperity and advancement of both regions; and
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to identify impediments and opportunities related to such progress.
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For more information please visit our website
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