Sikh temple, 1910 Sikh temple, 1931.
Late 19th century South Asians first settled in Vancouver in the late 19th century. The pioneers were men, mostly
Sikhs from the
Punjab region of British India. These individuals first arrived in 1897 when a contingent of Sikh
soldiers participated in the parade to celebrate
Queen Victoria's
Diamond Jubilee by traveling across the British Empire. On their journey home, they passed through Vancouver where some remained as Canada's first South Asian settlers.
Early 20th century By 1900, the South Asian population in the
Lower Mainland (contemporary
regional districts of
Metro Vancouver and the
Fraser Valley), was estimated to be at least 100, of which almost all were of Punjabi Sikh origin, according to a research article by
Margaret Walton-Roberts. Most of the early South Asian pioneers worked in the sawmill industry and thus settled in areas along False Creek and the Fraser River including
Kitsilano,
Fraser Mills and
Queensborough. A
Gurdwara (Sikh temple) was constructed in Kitsilano in 1908; this was the first Sikh temple to be constructed in Canada. Later in the same year, another temple was constructed in Fraser Mills. At the turn of the century the Mayor of Vancouver did not permit cremation, so when the first Sikh died in 1907 he could not be cremated in the Vancouver city limits. Christian missionaries did not permit him to be buried with whites. Even though the missionaries promoted burial, the Sikhs instead cremated the man in a distant wilderness. This prompted Sikhs to establish their own religious institutions. In 1908 the Canadian Dominion government had a plan to obtain labour for
sugar plantations in British Honduras, now Belize, by recruiting Punjabis in Vancouver. The plan was not tested because the Punjabis had already found employment.
Anti-South Asian sentiment was present in early years of settlement. During the most infamous anti-Asian riot in BC history (
Anti-Oriental Riots of 1907), South Asians were spared as they remained indoors. However, in 1914 Canadian authorities turned away the
Komagata Maru and most of its passengers; this vessel carried Punjabi Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus who were intending to move to Canada. This incident later provoked persons of Indian origin residing on the North American West Coast to oppose discrimination against their ethnic groups. The system of sponsoring Vancouver-based South Asians sponsoring relatives in India to immigrate to Vancouver began in 1919, when the Canadian government began permitting children and women based in India entry into Canada. By 1923 Vancouver became the primary cultural, social, and religious centre of British Columbia Indo-Canadians and it had the largest East Indian-origin population of any city in North America. However, major immigration restrictions until the 1950s meant the South Asian community in Vancouver was relatively small. The immigration patterns of South Asians arriving to Canada changed by the 1960s, with Ontario becoming a secondary centre of immigration. By contrast, in earlier decades British Columbia was the sole major point of immigration from the Indian subcontinent to Canada. In addition, the first major non-Sikh immigration wave to Vancouver occurred during the 1960s. While still representing less than 10% of the South Asian population in the region, additional immigration to Vancouver of those of non Punjabi backgrounds residing in India, Fiji, and England occurred in the late 1960s. Punjabi Canadians were geographically dispersed throughout Vancouver during the post-war years into the early 1950s. By 1981, the Punjabi population in Metro Vancouver increased to nearly 30,000, including about 2,288 Hindus with the remainder being Sikhs. In the same timeframe, India supplied just over three quarters of the total South Asian immigration to Vancouver. Interestingly, during this period the second largest source country of South Asians was Fiji, which supplied nearly 15% of South Asian immigration to Vancouver. Others originated from Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The bomb that went on AI182 was first placed on a connecting flight that departed Vancouver. Since then, there have been memorial services held at
Stanley Park. The Ceperley Playground at Stanley Park has a memorial listing the names of the passengers. By the mid-1980s wealthier South Asians were moving to
Surrey from South Vancouver because land in Surrey was less expensive. The population continued to swell throughout the region thereafter; by 1991, the South Asian population grew to 86,200 in Metro Vancouver. In 1996 a controversy occurred when Dr. Stephens, a doctor in
San Jose, California, put advertisements for sex-selection services which would allow parents to reject female children. The Coalition of Women's Organizations Against Sex Selection, organized by Mahila, a women's group headquartered in Vancouver, criticized Stephens. In 2006 the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) stated that there had been attempts to extort and kidnap people in Surrey; the RCMP did not disclose when the attempts occurred and who the targets were. The RCMP stated that businesspersons of Indo-Canadian origins in Surrey need to take precautions. In response, the president of Sikh Alliance Against Violence, Kandola, stated that the warning was too vague and could cause unnecessary panic and confusion.
21st century In August 2008, during a community meeting, the
Prime Minister of Canada gave an apology for the Komagata Maru incident in a park, in
Surrey. He also cited the fact that no Indo-Canadian professionals were charged with any such crimes. He added "I doubt there is a single university graduate among the lot." == Demography ==