Before Trinidad and Tobago achieved independence in 1962 a wave of emigration to Panama occurred as opportunities opened up for work on the Panama Canal at the turn of the 20th century. Most of the laborer’s eventually moved north to settle in different American cities. Another wave of emigration to England occurred during the 1950s as local inhabitants who felt the need to improve educational and earning opportunities in which England encouraged its colonies to assist in its post-war rebuilding efforts. Outside of these waves, inhabitants of Trinidad and Tobago were attracted to the USA and Canada during the second half of the 20th century and a steady rate of departures for greener pastures became evident from the 1960s when British immigration policies were more adverse for Caribbean people (Richmond 1987). In the ensuing decades, more persons left the country’s shores seeking a better life in North America. In 2013, the estimated number of TT migrants in the metropolitan countries crossed 364,000 of which 249,000 were domiciled in USA and 76,000 domiciled in Canada (UNICEF 2013). Another data source – The Migration Policy Institute estimated 220,000 TT nationals in the USA in 2014 based on the US Census (A. Phillips 2018).
US States with largest Number of Trinbago Migrants