Caribbean Toronto History: Domestic Scheme to Little Jamaica

Caribbean migration to Toronto grew after 1955, when Canada began admitting women from Jamaica and Barbados as domestic workers under the West Indian Domestic Scheme. New rules in 1962 and 1967 removed barriers based on colour and nationality. By 2001, Statistics Canada reported that almost 60 per cent of Canadians of Caribbean origin lived in Toronto, and the Eglinton West strip known as Little Jamaica became a centre of that community.

Before 1955

People from the Caribbean came to Canada long before the postwar years, but in small numbers. The Canadian Encyclopedia article on Caribbean Canadians, written by Marie Labelle, Serge Larose, Victor Piché and Christiane Oyeniran, says Caribbean people began settling in Canada in the late 1700s. It estimates that about 21,500 immigrants came from Caribbean countries between 1900 and 1960. Toronto’s older Black communities, including those that grew out of the Underground Railroad, are covered in the article on Black history and the Underground Railroad.

The West Indian Domestic Scheme, 1955 to 1967

The first large organized movement was the West Indian Domestic Scheme. According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, it ran from 1955 to 1967 and brought in women, mainly from Jamaica and Barbados, to work as domestic workers during the postwar economic expansion. One of those who entered through the scheme was Jean Augustine, who later became the first Black woman elected to Parliament and the first Black woman in the federal Cabinet.

The Canadian Encyclopedia notes that English-speaking West Indians have chosen Ontario, and especially Toronto, as a place to settle. The sources opened for this article do not give the number of women admitted under the scheme or describe the conditions of their work, so those details are left out.

The rule changes of 1962 and 1967

Two sets of regulations changed who could enter. The Canadian Encyclopedia says the 1962 regulations reduced the weight given to an applicant’s colour or nationality and gave more weight to education and skills. The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 describes the next step: regulations issued on August 16, 1967 scored independent applicants out of 100 points, with 50 needed for admission. The museum records that immigration from Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and Africa rose significantly afterward. The broader policy story is told in the article on postwar immigration to Toronto.

The Canadian Encyclopedia gives figures that show the change. About 64,000 people came from the Caribbean between 1960 and 1971. In 1973 about 20,000 were admitted, and in 1974 the number was 23,885. After that the share fell, from 10 per cent of all immigration in 1975 to 6 per cent in 1979.

How many came, and where they settled

Statistics Canada published a profile of the Caribbean community in 2007 using 2001 census data. It reports that 14 per cent of immigrants of Caribbean origin arrived in the 1960s, 25 per cent between 1981 and 1990 and 28 per cent in the decade to 2001. Almost 60 per cent of people of Caribbean origin in Canada lived in Toronto, just over 280,000 people, and Montreal had close to 20 per cent. Jamaicans were the largest group, at 42 per cent of those reporting Caribbean origins. The Canadian Encyclopedia adds that 749,155 Canadians reported Caribbean origins in the 2016 census. Most Caribbean Canadians live in Toronto and Montreal.

These figures cover the whole country and count people by ethnic origin. They do not give the size of any single Toronto neighbourhood, and the sources read here do not provide a more recent count for the city alone.

Eglinton West and Little Jamaica

The strip of Eglinton Avenue West known as Little Jamaica grew from the settlement of the 1960s and 1970s. Global News reported in 2019 that Jamaican migrants arriving in those decades opened shops along the avenue, and that historian Natasha Henry says this laid the groundwork for one of the largest Jamaican expatriate communities in the world. The record shops and recording studios supported a reggae scene that the article says was second only to Kingston. The City commissioned a Reggae Lane mural there in 2015.

The City of Toronto describes the corridor as a distinct ethnic and cultural hub for Caribbean and African immigrants for many decades, known for Black-owned barber shops, restaurants, beauty shops, recording studios and music stores. Boundaries differ between sources. Global News describes the strip as running from Allen Road to Keele Street, centred near Oakwood Avenue, while the City’s planning study area runs west to Keele Street and takes in several neighbourhoods around it.

The Eglinton Crosstown light rail line, built through the same stretch, hit shops hard. In late 2019 the York-Eglinton Business Improvement Area reported that 40 to 45 per cent of businesses between Marlee Avenue and Dufferin Street had closed or relocated since construction began. In 2020 City Council directed staff to help affected small businesses and to work toward a Little Jamaica Heritage and Innovation Hub. The City says a Little Jamaica Cultural District Study was completed in September 2023, and that in late June 2026 Council directed implementation of its Cultural Districts Program, including a Little Jamaica Cultural District. The planning work is still under way.

Community institutions

The Canadian Encyclopedia lists many organizations that serve the Caribbean community in Canada. Those with a Toronto connection include the Ontario Black History Society, the Jamaican Canadian Association, the Trinidad and Tobago Association of Ontario, the Thornhill African Caribbean Canadian Association and the Council of Caribbean Associations Canada. The Jamaican Canadian Association’s website lists student and youth programs, scholarships, activities for Caribbean Canadian seniors, and a hall that can be booked for events. The sources opened here do not give founding dates for these groups, so none are stated.

The Canadian Encyclopedia also names the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, known as Caribana, as one of the annual Caribbean festivals in Canada. Its history is told in the article on Caribana.

What remains to be checked

This article rests on one national encyclopedia entry, one Statistics Canada profile and City and press accounts of Little Jamaica. It does not cover the Trinidadian, Guyanese, Barbadian and Haitian communities in equal detail, because the sources opened here describe them only in outline. A fuller history would draw on census tables by origin, the City of Toronto Archives and oral histories. For the larger picture, see the immigration history of Toronto.

Frequently asked questions

What was the West Indian Domestic Scheme?

A program that ran from 1955 to 1967 and brought women, mainly from Jamaica and Barbados, to Canada as domestic workers, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia.

What changed in 1962 and 1967?

The 1962 regulations reduced the weight given to colour and nationality, and the 1967 regulations introduced a 100-point system with 50 points needed for admission.

Where is Little Jamaica?

It is the Eglinton Avenue West corridor, running from about Allen Road to Keele Street according to Global News. Exact boundaries differ between sources.

How many Caribbean Canadians live in Toronto?

Statistics Canada reported in 2007 that almost 60 per cent of Canadians of Caribbean origin, just over 280,000 people, lived in Toronto in 2001. No newer city-only count was available for this article.

Which Toronto festival celebrates Caribbean culture?

The Toronto Caribbean Carnival, known as Caribana. It has its own article on this site.

Sources

Marie Labelle, Serge Larose, Victor Piché and Christiane Oyeniran, “Caribbean Canadians,” The Canadian Encyclopedia (2021)
Statistics Canada, The Caribbean Community in Canada, catalogue 89-621-X, no. 7 (2007)
Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, “Immigration Regulations, Order-in-Council PC 1967-1616, 1967”
City of Toronto, Little Jamaica and Oakwood Vaughan planning study page (accessed October 2026)
Global News, report on Little Jamaica and the Eglinton Crosstown LRT (December 23, 2019)
Jamaican Canadian Association, organization website (accessed October 2026)

Last verified: October 2026

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APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 31). Caribbean Toronto History: Migration, Little Jamaica and Institutions. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/caribbean-toronto-history

MLA: “Caribbean Toronto History: Migration, Little Jamaica and Institutions.” History of Toronto, 31 Oct 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/caribbean-toronto-history. Accessed .

Chicago: History of Toronto. “Caribbean Toronto History: Migration, Little Jamaica and Institutions.” Last modified October 31, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/caribbean-toronto-history.

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