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Canadian Sikhs are the largest religious group among Indo-Canadians.[1]. According to the 2001 census there are 278,410 [2] Sikhs in Canada.
[edit] History
Sikhs have been in Canada since at least 1897. One of the first Sikh soldiers arrived in Canada following Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. Sikhs were one of the few Asian immigrant communities who were loyal members of the British Empire. The irony was that greater entry restrictions were placed on prospective Sikh immigrants as compared to the Japanese and Chinese. While Canadian politicians, missionaries, unions and the press did not want Asian labour, British Columbia industrialists were short of labour and thus Sikhs were able to get an early foothold at the turn of the century in British Columbia. Of the nearly 5,000 East Indians in Canada by 1907, over 98% were Sikhs, mostly retired British army veterans. [3]. Sikh immigration to Canada was banned in 1908, and the population began to shrink. The 1907 riot in Vancouver led to a heightened and unabated violent sentiment against Asians and later the Komagata Maru incident in 1914 was the direct result of this ban on Asian immigration to Canada.
[edit] Sikh Population
The Sikh Population in Canada according to the 2001 Census[4].
[edit] Prominent Canadian Sikhs
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
British Columbia
Ontario
Alberta
Quebec
Manitoba
Saskatchewan
Nova Scotia
Newfoundland and Labrador
Yukon
New Brunswick
Northwest Territories
Prince Edward Island
Nunavut
Canada
