CANADIAN business organisations were recently informed about business opportunities in CARICOM countries and presented with a 15-page CARICOM-Canada Trade and Investment Report.
The Report is the highlight of the 2026 edition of Caribbean Business & Travel, a business publication produced by Caribbean Signature, a Florida-based consulting, communications and training group.
“We thought it was timely to focus on ways to strengthen the CARICOM-Canada trade and investment relationship, especially since Canada is focusing on trade diversification. We feel the region needs to make its business opportunities more visible, and our 2026 edition highlights some of the key issues that need to be addressed,” Chief Executive Consultant and Editor, Sandra Ann Baptiste said.
Caribbean Signature has promoted trade, investment and travel to the Caribbean for over a decade. A Caribbean Manufacturing Sector Investment Opportunities Report was also presented to the Canadian business organisations.
The business publication was presented to executives of the Toronto-based Ontario Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, and the Mississauga and Brampton Boards of Trade. Baptiste also met with the Barbados Consul-General, Anthony Branker and his Guyana counterpart, Mani Singh.
“The business organisations felt that the Caribbean needs to improve communication with their Canadian counterparts and what is needed to strengthen the trade and investment relationship is more business-to-business contacts and not just promotions by Government officials,” Baptiste said.
Both Canadian and Caribbean business groups feel exporters should have input in the ongoing dialogue under the Canada-CARICOM Strategic Partnership, which was signed in 2023.
The Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) Manager, International Trade and Skills Policy, Matt Connley, said that with CARICOM, there is an opportunity to build trade capacity through co-operation by focusing on targeted regulatory alignment, efficient logistics, and open channels for industry feedback.
“Tangible opportunities need to be put on the table and kept top of mind for industry associations like CME. At the end of the day, trade is built when companies connect – when exporters meet buyers, and partnerships can develop. Agreements set the framework, but business relationships turn them into results,” The CME official stated.
The Barbados Senior Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Christopher Sinckler, said there are opportunities to expand commercial engagement in renewable energy, climate-resilient infrastructure, logistics, insurance and risk management, maritime research, digital services, skills development, and the creative industries in various sectors, while making fuller use of the preferential market access available under CARIBCAN, which allows most Caribbean exports to Canada tariff-free.
Sinckler said the next step under the Canada-CARICOM Strategic Partnership should be a practical programme of collaboration supported by business-to-business engagement, sector-specific investment pipelines, targeted investor outreach, and investment facilitation. He also mentioned stronger reporting to deliver measurable commercial outcomes for both Canada and CARICOM through the Senior Officials Dialogue which was last convened in June.
Sinckler said there are considerable opportunities for Canadian companies to sell their products and services to Barbados. “With close to a billion U.S. dollars in new hotel and resort investment currently underway in Barbados alone, including major projects such as the Pendry Barbados development, there is substantial and growing demand for imported construction materials, hospitality furnishings, food and beverage products, and sustainable tourism technologies.”
The President of the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA), Kathryn Silvera, who said Jamaican entrepreneurs are working to expand traditional exports to the large diaspora in Canada, noted that Jamaican producers can benefit from Canadian companies that are world leaders in agri-business and food processing technology. “Canadian proficiency in logistics, cold chain management, and supply chain optimisation could help Jamaican exporters reduce post-harvest losses and improve the quality consistency that premium export markets demand.”
The Canadian High Commissioner to Barbados, Brenda Wills, pointed to scope for Caribbean countries to benefit from Canada’s “considerable experience” with public-private partnerships and the role they can play in bringing together governments, investors and technical expertise to deliver infrastructural projects.
Outgoing Georgetown-based Canadian diplomat, Sebastien Sigouin, referred to the wide range of untapped investment opportunities in Guyana and Suriname, while Guyana’s Chief Investment Officer in the Office of the President, Dr Peter Ramsaroop, reported that there has been increasing Canadian interest in doing business with Guyana.
The 2026 report also featured the OECS Director-General, Dr Didacus Jules, and the Chair of the Guyana-Canada Chamber of Commerce, Lilian Chatterjee.
During the meetings in Toronto, Caribbean officials stressed that the region’s manufacturers need investment and technical assistance to boost capacity, and assistance to understand and meet regulatory requirements in the Canadian market.
