Punjabi Canadians number approximately 950,000 and account for roughly 2.6% of Canada's population, as per the 2021 Canadian census.[lower-alpha 1] Their heritage originates wholly or partly from the Punjab region of India and Pakistan.
Punjabis first arrived in Canada during the late 19th century to work in the forestry industry. Primarily concentrated in the western province of British Columbia, the Punjabi population initially peaked in 1908 before an ensuing period of population decline and stagnation followed. In the mid 20th century Canadian immigration laws were relaxed, fostering rapid population growth into the present day.
Today, the largest Punjabi communities in Canada are situated in the province of British Columbia, concentrated in Vancouver, and the province of Ontario, particularly in Toronto.
In 1897, the first persons of Punjabi origin visited British Columbia. They were soldiers transiting from India to the United Kingdom during the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria.[3] The Punjabis ultimately became the first South Asian-origin group to settle in Canada.
Early 20th century
In 1900, the population of Punjabis in Canada increased to 100.[3] By 1906, this number increased to 1,500. The vast majority were Sikhs and came from Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Ferozpur, and Ludhiana.[4] 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.[5]
Initially, Punjabis were guaranteed jobs by agents of big Canadian companies like the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Hudson's Bay Company. Overcoming their initial reluctance to go to these countries due to the treatment of Asians by the white population, many young men chose to go, having been assured that they would not meet the same fate. They were British subjects and Canada was a part of the British Empire.[6]
A notable moment in early Punjabi Canadian history was in 1902 when Punjabi Sikh settlers first arrived in Golden, British Columbia to work at the Columbia River Lumber Company.[7] This was a theme amongst most early Punjabi settlers in Canada to find work in the agricultural and forestry sectors in British Columbia.[8] Punjabis became a prominent ethnic group within the sawmill workforce in British Columbia almost immediately after initial arrival to Canada.[9]
The early settlers in Golden built the first Gurdwara (Sikh Temple) in Canada and North America in 1905,[10][11] which would later be destroyed by fire in 1926.[12] The second Gurdwara to be built in Canada was in 1908 in Kitsilano (Vancouver), aimed at serving a growing number of Punjabi Sikh settlers who worked at nearby sawmills along False Creek at the time.[13] The Gurdwara would later close and be demolished in 1970, with the temple society relocating to the newly built Gurdwara on Ross Street, in South Vancouver.
Sikhs attending a funeral outside Vancouver, circa 1914
Oftentimes, upon arrival to British Columbia, early Punjabi immigrants and settlers faced widespread racism by other ethnic groups who had also immigrated and settled in Canada in prior decades, including English Canadians, Scottish Canadians, or Irish Canadians. Most of the white Canadians feared workers who would work for less pay, and that an influx of more immigrants would threaten their jobs.[21][22]
The continued tensions caused the Punjabi population to fall from a high of 4,700 in 1907, to less than 2,000 by 1914.[23] In 1908 the British Columbia government passed a law preventing Indian men from voting. Because eligibility for federal elections originated from provincial voting lists, East Indian men were unable to vote in federal elections.[24]
Punjabis aboard the Komagata Maru in Vancouver's Burrard Inlet, 1914
Punjabis were later faced by one of the most infamous racial exclusion acts in Canadian history. In 1914, The Komagata Maru, a steamliner carrying 376 passengers from Punjab docked in Vancouver. Of them, 24 were admitted to Canada, but the other 352 passengers were not allowed to disembark in Canada, and the ship was forced to return to India. The passengers comprised 337 Punjabi Sikhs, 27 Punjabi Muslims and 12 Punjabi Hindus.[25]
By 1923, Vancouver became the primary cultural, social, and religious centre of Punjabi Canadians as it had the largest ethnic Indian population of any city in North America.[35] The Punjabi population in Canada would remain relatively stable throughout the mid 20th century as the exclusionary immigration policies practiced by the Canadian government continued. However, a shift began to occur after World War Two. The Canadian government re-enfranchised the Indo-Canadian community with the right to vote in 1947.
A significant event in Punjabi Canadian history occurred in 1950 when 25 years after settling in Canada and nine years after moving to British Columbia from Toronto, Naranjan "Giani" Singh Grewall became the first individual of Punjabi ancestry in Canada and North America to be elected to public office after successfully running for a position on the board of commissioners in Mission, BC against six other candidates.[36][37][38][39][40] Grewall was re-elected to the board of commissioners in 1952 and by 1954, was elected to became mayor of Mission.[36][39][40]
"Thank you all citizens of Mission City [...] It is a credit to this community to elect the first East Indian to public office in the history of our great dominion. It shows your broad-mindedness, tolerance and consideration.".[38]
—Notice by Naranjan Singh Grewall in the local Mission newspaper following his election to public office, 1950
A millwright and union official, and known as a sportsman and humanitarian philanthropist as well as a lumberman, Grewall eventually established himself as one of the largest employers and most influential business leaders in the northern Fraser Valley, owned six sawmills and was active in community affairs serving on the boards or as chairman of a variety of organizations, and was instrumental in helping create Mission's municipal tree farm.[36][38][39][40][41] With strong pro-labour beliefs despite his role as a mill-owner, after a scandal embroiled the provincial Ministry of Forestry under the-then Social Credit party government, he referred to holders of forest management licenses across British Columbia as Timber Maharajahs, and cautioned that within a decade, three or four giant corporations would predominantly control the entire industry in the province, echoing similarities to the archaic zamindar system in South Asia.[39][41] He later ran unsuccessfully for the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (the precursor of today's New Democratic Party) in the Dewdney riding in the provincial election of 1956.[40][41]
While by the 1950s, Punjabi Canadians had gained respect in business in British Columbia primarily for their work in owning sawmills and aiding the development of the provincial forestry industry, racism still existed especially in the upper echelons of society.[39][42] As such, during the campaign period and in the aftermath of running for MLA in 1956, Grewall received personal threats, while the six mills he owned along with his house were all set ablaze by arsonists.[42][lower-alpha 4] One year later, on July 17, 1957, while on a business trip, he was suspiciously found dead in a Seattle motel, having been shot in the head.[lower-alpha 4][lower-alpha 5][42][43] Grewall Street in Mission was named in his honour.[44]
“Every kid in the North Fraser, who thinks he or she is being discriminated against, should read the Grewall story and the challenges he faced.”.[lower-alpha 4]
—Former B.C. premier Dave Barrett on Naranjan Singh Grewall
During the 1950s, immigration restrictions were loosened and Vancouver remained the centre of Punjabi immigration through the mid-20th century. In the post-war years into the early 1950s, Punjabis were geographically dispersed in the Lower Mainland, however two concentrations soon developed; first in South Vancouver (Sunset neighbourhood) during the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s,[45] followed by South Burnaby (Edmonds neighbourhood).[46] Out of these two newly formed ethnic enclaves, it was South Vancouver which began to flourish as the Punjabi Market was soon founded in the late 1960s.
In 1967, all immigration quotas based on specific ethnic groups were scrapped in Canada, thus allowing the ethnic Punjabi population in Canada to grow rapidly thereafter. Most continued to settle in across British Columbia, notably in the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, and the interior. As many Punjabis worked in the forestry industry, interior and northern regions of British Columbia began to see a rise in Punjabi immigration in the 1960s. Prince George, the economic centre of Northern BC, became a secondary hub for early Punjabi immigration.[47]
Later in the 1970s, Punjabi population concentrations began appearing in North Delta, East Richmond, and Surrey. Vandalism against houses owned by Indo-Canadians and a Sikh gurdwara occurred in the 1970s, especially from 1974 to 1975 in Richmond.[48]:7
Late 20th century to present
In 1986, following the British Columbia provincial election, Moe Sihota became the first Canadian of Punjabi ancestry to be elected to any provincial legislature in Canada. Sihota, who was born in Duncan, British Columbia in 1955, ran as the NDP Candidate in the riding of Esquimalt-Port Renfrew two years after being involved in municipal politics, as he was elected as an Alderman for the city of Esquimalt in 1984.
By the 1980s, the traditional Punjabi immigration patterns began to shift. Ontario soon became an important centre of immigration to Canada. Large Punjabi populations began to appear across the Greater Toronto Area, especially in Scarborough, Markham, Mississauga, Brampton, and Ajax. At the same time, Alberta also became another important immigration destination for Punjabis, with the third and fourth largest Punjabi Canadian populations in metropolitan areas now situated in Metro Calgary (primarily Northeast Calgary) and Metro Edmonton (primarily Southeast Edmonton in Mill Woods).
As of the 2011 census, 5.5% of residents reported speaking Punjabi at home in Metro Vancouver, while 21.3% of Surrey residents speak it as their primary language at home.[49]
During the early stages of Punjabi immigration to Canada, most pioneers were of the Sikh faith.[54]
A census report detailing the religious proportion breakdown of the Punjabi Canadian community was done between 2005 and 2007 by Statistics Canada, with results derived from the 2001 Canadian census.[55] This report found that 86% of Punjabi Canadians were adherents of the Sikh faith, while the remaining 14% followed other religions such as Hinduism, Islam, or Christianity.[lower-alpha 6]
The largest Punjabi populations in Canada are located in British Columbia and Ontario. Alberta, Manitoba, and Quebec are also home to significant populations with Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia featuring small but rapidly growing Punjabi communities.
According to the 2021 census, metropolitan areas with the highest proportions of Punjabi Canadians included Abbotsford–Mission (23.3%), Vancouver (9.2%), Toronto (5.2%), Winnipeg (4.9%), Calgary (4.7%), Edmonton (3.8%), Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo (2.8%), Regina (2.5%), Kelowna (2.2%), Hamilton (1.8%), Saskatoon (1.7%), and Victoria (1.5%).[1]
According to the 2021 census, subdivisions in British Columbia with the highest proportions of Punjabi Canadians included Surrey (29.3%), Abbotsford (27.3%), Delta (19.4%), Cawston (16.4%), Okanagan−Similkameen Subdivision A[lower-alpha 7] (14.9%), Okanagan−Similkameen Subdivision C[lower-alpha 8] (14.3%), Mission (8.9%), Oliver (8.4%), Squamish (5.4%), Okanagan−Similkameen Subdivision G[lower-alpha 9] (5.4%), and New Westminster (5.1%).
Subdivisions with Punjabi Canadian populations greater than 100 listed below.[lower-alpha 1]
Punjabi Canadians by subdivisions in British Columbia (2016−2021)
According to the 2021 census, subdivisions in the Prairies with the highest proportions of Punjabi Canadians included Chestermere (14.7%), Winnipeg (5.3%), Edmonton (5.0%), Thompson (4.9%), Calgary (4.7%), Regina (2.7%), Airdrie (2.4%), Saskatoon (2.0%), Portage La Prairie (1.9%), Grande Prairie (1.2%), and Yorkton (1.2%).
Subdivisions with Punjabi Canadian populations greater than 100 listed below.[lower-alpha 1]
According to the 2021 census, subdivisions in Ontario with the highest proportions of Punjabi Canadians included Brampton (29.1%), Caledon (15.1%), Mississauga (5.3%), Mono (5.0%), Milton (4.6%), Woodstock (4.2%), Cambridge (3.8%), Kitchener (3.2%), Brantford (3.1%), Oakville (2.6%), Ajax (2.3%), Halton Hills (2.1%), and Waterloo (2.0%).
Subdivisions with Punjabi Canadian populations greater than 100 listed below.[lower-alpha 1]
1 2 3 Religious breakdown proportions based on "Punjabi" ethnic or cultural origin response on the 2021 census.[2]
1 2 3 Census data on total language speakers began during the 1991 census. 1981 (x1.375) and 1986 census (x1.5) figures are regression estimates derived using the proportion of total Punjabi speakers to Punjabi mother tongue speakers from the 1991 census, which was approximately 1.5 times greater.
1 2 3 When Grewall was nominated as a candidate for the CCF party in the Dewdney riding in 1956, this drew excitement. But, according to Barrett, Grewall faced open discrimination on the campaign trail. “The former mayor knew the risk he was taking and many people were surprised he took this risk to enter the race,” said Barrett. Barrett said Grewall overcame many racial insults along the way. “Every kid in the North Fraser, who thinks he or she is being discriminated against, should read the Grewall story and the challenges he faced.” Grewall was later found dead in a Seattle motel room with a gunshot wound to the head in July of 1957. He was 47 years of age.[41]
↑ After losing his MLA bid in 1956 to SoCred Labor Minister Lyle Wicks, Grewal began receiving threats. Fires were set at his mills and his house was set ablaze. On July 17, 1957, while on a business trip, Grewall was found dead in a Seattle motel. He had been shot in the head. Although local police ruled it a suicide, Grewall's family believes he was a victim of foul play. Grewall was survived by his wife and three children, who left Mission City shortly after his death. Despite the suspicious circumstances of his death, Grewall's story is more notable for his legacy of community involvement than for his untimely demise.[38]
↑ For example, while those with Punjabi ancestry were predominantly Sikh (86%), [...][55]:23
Golden is a town in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, 262 kilometres (163 mi) west of Calgary, Alberta, and 713 kilometres (443 mi) east of Vancouver.
Greater Vancouver, also known as Metro Vancouver, is the metropolitan area with its major urban centre being the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The term "Greater Vancouver" describes an area that is roughly coterminous with the region governed by the Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), though it predates the 1966 creation of the regional district. It is often used to include areas beyond the boundaries of the regional district but does not generally include wilderness and agricultural areas that are included within the MVRD.
South Asian Canadians are Canadians who were either born in or can trace their ancestry to the Indian subcontinent, which includes the nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives.
The Komagata Maru incident involved the Japanese steamship Komagata Maru, on which a group of people from British India attempted to immigrate to Canada in April 1914, but most were denied entry and forced to return to Budge Budge, Calcutta. There, the Indian Imperial Police attempted to arrest the group leaders. A riot ensued, and they were fired upon by the police, resulting in some deaths.
Sikhismin Canada has nearly 800,000 adherents who account for 2.1% of Canada's population as of 2021, forming the country's fastest-growing and fourth-largest religious group. The largest Sikh populations in Canada are found in Ontario, followed by British Columbia and Alberta. As of the 2021 Census, more than half of Canada's Sikhs can be found in one of four cities: Brampton (163,260), Surrey (154,415), Calgary (49,465), and Edmonton (41,385).
Asian Canadians are Canadians who were either born in or can trace their ancestry to the continent of Asia. Canadians with Asian ancestry comprise both the largest and fastest growing group in Canada, after European Canadians, forming approximately 20.2 percent of the Canadian population as of 2021. Most Asian Canadians are concentrated in the urban areas of Southern Ontario, Southwestern British Columbia, Central Alberta, and other large Canadian cities.
The Khalsa Diwan Society Vancouver is a Sikh gurdwara organization in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Dave Sukhdip Singh Hayer is a former Indo-Canadian politician for the province of British Columbia. He served as member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Surrey-Tynehead from 2001 to 2013. Hayer is the son of assassinated journalist Tara Singh Hayer.
Indo-Canadians or Indian Canadians, are Canadians who have ancestry from India. The term East Indian is sometimes used to avoid confusion with the Indigenous peoples of Canada. Categorically, Indo-Canadians comprise a subgroup of South Asian Canadians which is a further subgroup of Asian Canadians. According to Statistics Canada, Indians are one of the fastest growing communities in Canada and one of the largest non-European ethnic groups.
The Punjabi diaspora refers to the descendants of ethnic Punjabis who emigrated out of the Punjab region in the northern part of the South Asia to the rest of the world. Punjabis are one of the largest ethnic groups in both the Pakistani and Indian diasporas. The Punjabi diaspora numbers around the world has been given between 2.5 and 10 million, mainly concentrated in Britain, Canada, United States, Western Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand.
The Gur Sikh Temple, in Abbotsford, British Columbia, is the oldest existing Sikh gurdwara in North America and a National Historic Site of Canada. It is the only gurdwara outside of India and Pakistan that is designated as national historic site.
South Asian Canadians in Metro Vancouver are the third-largest pan-ethnic group in the region, comprising 369,295 persons or 14.2 percent of the total population as of 2021. Sizable communities exist within the city of Vancouver along with the adjoining city of Surrey, which houses one of the world's largest South Asian enclaves.
The South Asian community in British Columbia was first established in 1897. The first immigrants originated from Punjab, British India, a northern region and state in modern-day India and Pakistan. Punjabis originally settled in rural British Columbia at the turn of the twentieth century, working in the forestry and agricultural industries.
Paldi is a multi-ethnic settlement and former mill town near Duncan, on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. It is significant as a town founded by Sikh Canadians, and its early exemplification of multiculturalism.
Sikhism in Greater Vancouver is one of the main religions across the region, especially among the Indo-Canadian population. The Sikh community in Vancouver is the oldest, largest and most influential across Canada, having begun in the late 19th century.
Mewa Singh Lopoke was a Sikh activist in Canada who was a member of the Vancouver branch of the Ghadar Party, which called for the overthrow of British rule in India. On October 21, 1914, Mewa Singh murdered a Canadian immigration inspector, W. C. Hopkinson, a political act of violence for which he was executed by the Canadian government. In the eyes of Sikh Canadians, Mewa Singh's assassination of Hopkinson was a display of martyrdom, one which they commemorate annually.
Aman Singh is a Canadian politician who has represented the electoral district of Richmond-Queensborough in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia since 2020, as a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party. He is the first turban-wearing Sikh to be elected Member of the Legislative Assembly in BC.
↑ Singh, Khushwant (Feb 26 – Mar 12, 1961). "The Ghadr Rebellion". Illustrated Weekly of India: Feb 26 – Mar 12. Archived from the original on 24 March 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
↑ "FIRST SIKH TEMPLE IN NORTH AMERICA". March 10, 2021. The first Sikhs came to Golden about 1902, arriving to work in the sawmill of the Columbia River Lumber Company. When the Sikhs arrived in Golden the community was in its infancy and the sawmill had recently opened. The Columbia River Lumber Company recognized the value of these tall strong men and had no problem with the men. They hired them to work in the lumberyard, planer, and sawmill. The first documented proof that we have of South Asians of the Sikh faith being residents of Golden is a copy of a telegram sent to G.T. Bradshaw, Chief of Police, New Westminster from Colin Cameron, Chief of Police, Golden, BC on July 20, 1902. It was sent collect and reads: Geha Singh of Golden sent a telegram to Santa Singh care of Small and Bucklin for one thousand dollars.
↑ "Country Brief – Canada" (Archive). Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs. p. 4/7. Retrieved on October 21, 2014. "Emigrants from India today enjoy success in all fields within the economy while there are some concentration in British Columbia in agriculture and forestry."
↑ Nayar, The Punjabis in British Columbia, p. 28. "In fact, early in the twentieth century, when many Chinese and Japanese men were working in sawmills, lumber labour had become associated with ethnicity."
↑ "Sikhs celebrate history in Golden". April 26, 2018. The original temple in Golden sat on a corner of a lot, in the south western area of town at the end of the street looking toward where Rona is now. The largest influx of men came from South Asia around 1905, which would be the time period that the temple in Golden would have began services. In 1926, a fire burned the timber limits of the Columbia River Lumber Company, where the South Asian men worked.
↑ "Golden's Sikh heritage recognized on new Stop of Interest sign". November 9, 2016. We acknowledge the Gurdwara in Golden as the first in B.C., and quite likely the first in North America," said Pyara Lotay, on behalf of the local Sikh community. "We thank the B.C. government for recognizing Golden's Sikh pioneers and their place of worship with this Stop of Interest.
↑ "Golden Gurdwara is recognized for its historical significance". June 7, 2017. The original temple sat on the corner of a lot, which is now owned by Gurmit Manhas, at the end of the street past the School Board Office looking towards the Rona. Plans are being put together to erect a kiosk there that would share information about the original building, the first South Asian people to Canada, the importance of the Gurdwara to the Sikh people and the history of why they left and what brought them back. The largest influx of men came from South Asia in about 1905-06, which would be the time period that the Temple would have begun services. In 1926 a fire burned the timber limits of the Columbia River Lumber Company, where all the South Asian men worked and the men left for the coast having no work to do. When the forest started to grow back the men came back and soon it was necessary to build the present Gurdwara on 13th Street South.
↑ "New Westminster Sikh temple celebrates 100-year anniversary". March 3, 2019. The Gurdwara Sahib Sukh Sagar is one of the oldest Sikh temples in the country and its members are celebrating the milestone anniversary by reflecting on its historic significance to the local Sikh community. The temple was actually founded more than 100 years ago when a pioneering Sikh named Bhai Bishan Singh bought a house next door to where the building is now. Singh paid $250 for the house, which served as a place of worship until the congregation grew too large. In 1919, Singh bought the neighbouring lot at 347 Wood Street and the Gurdwara Sahib Sukh Sagar was born.
↑ "New Westminster Sikh temple welcomes community to celebrate its centennial anniversary". February 27, 2019. The Khalsa Diwan Society New Westminster is inviting community members to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Gurdwara Sahib Sukh Sagar in Queensborough. Since opening in 1919, the temple has become an integral part of the Queensborough and New Westminster communities, and has provided a place for Sikhs from New Westminster and the Lower Mainland to gather and to worship. "It is starting up on Thursday and it will be four days, with the main event on Sunday. It's open to anyone within the community – in Queensborough and in New West. It's to show support, learn about each other and the heritage," said Jag Sall, a member of the committee that's organizing the celebration. "I don't think a lot of people know that the Sikh community has been in Queensborough for over 100 years, and/or the gurdwara itself has been there that long. Not just the Sikh community, but other communities in Queensborough have been living there for a century."
↑ "The Gurdwara of New West Shares a Century of Stories". January 23, 2020. Every Sunday in 1919, the Sikhs of Queensborough on the Fraser River would stroll over to the house of Bhai Bishan Singh for worship. Singh, like many Punjabi immigrants, settled in the New Westminster neighbourhood because he worked upriver at a sawmill. A devout Sikh, he had the holy scripture installed in his home, the Guru Granth Sahib. Singh was a bachelor and gave much of his earnings to the local Khalsa Diwan Society, which in 1908 had built B.C.'s first gurdwara, the Sikh place of worship, in Vancouver. In March 1919, Singh helped the Sikhs of New Westminster start a gurdwara of their own. For $250, Singh bought the property next door and donated it to the society. Later, he would donate his house as well.
↑ "Paldi Sikh Temple in Cowichan celebrating 100 years". June 26, 2019. The town's cultural centres were the Japanese community hall and the Sikh Temple, which officially opened July 1, 1919, to coincide with Dominion Day.
↑ "PALDI: Town soaked in Sikh History". Wherever there are five or more Sikh's there will be Sikh Temple even just a spare room in some ones house. Therefore it was only that once the natural that once the mill and bunkhouses were erected the next building should be a Temple. The first official Temple in Paldi was built in 1919. On the same spot where the present Temple is located.
1 2 3 "Naranjan Singh Grewall: first NRI Mayor of Mission, BC, Canada". NRI Naranjan Singh Grewall was the first (Indo Canadian) Mayor of Mission, B.C., Canada and the first Indo Canadian mayor within any city in Canada, in 1954. He was elected Canada's first Sikh city councilor, to a public office in Mission, not only in Canada, but all of North America in 1950. In 1941, he came to Mission, B.C. from Toronto, Ontario. He purchased and became the operator of six lumber companies across the Fraser Valley. Referring to holders of forest management licenses as 'Timber Maharajahs', he warned that within 10 years 3 or 4 giant corporations would effectively control the industry in B.C. Mr. Grewall became a voice for the growing industry and openly critiqued the then government's policies of granting licenses to their friends. Throughout his life, Naranjan Grewall remained incredibly charitable.
1 2 3 4 "SOUTH ASIAN PIONEERS: NARANJAN SINGH GREWAL". May 19, 2015. Known as "Giani" to his friends, Naranjan Grewall is believed to be the first Indian ever elected to political office in North America. Grewall was born in East Punjab. He came to B.C. in 1925 and in 1941 moved to Mission City, a small mill town in the Fraser Valley. Grewall worked as a millwright at Fraser Mills and was elected a union official. He came to own and operate six sawmill companies and established himself as one of the largest employers and most influential business leaders in the area. After being in Mission for almost a decade, Grewall decided to run for political office in 1950. He competed against six other candidates in Mission's board of commissioners election.
1 2 3 4 5 "SHAPING OUR COMMUNITY: PROMINENT INDO-CANADIAN PIONEERS". Archived from the original on 2022-08-26. Retrieved 2022-08-27. Already a popular and well-respected man, he topped the polls, beating out seven candidates in a historic victory, especially given that Indo-Canadians had only been given the right to vote three years before. While Indo-Canadians had gained respect in business, racism still existed, especially regarding elite positions in society. The Vancouver Daily Province newspaper ran an article with the headline, "First in BC and believed first East Indian in Canada to hold public office." He was re-elected in 1952, and again in 1954. The same year the Board unanimously voted to name him Chairman of the Board, which gave him similar duties and influence to that of a Mayor. During his years in public office, he continued his community involvement and large-scale business ventures. He also fought for the building of a new Mission bridge as well as against prohibitive diking taxes [...] Naranjan Singh Grewall was even more passionate about the Forestry industry. At that time, the SoCred government in provincial power was embroiled in a corruption scandal. The Minister of Forestry was suspected of giving away significant amounts of timber rights to previously declined lumber corporations, often his personal friends. Worse, the premier W.A.C. Bennet seemed to be purposefully looking the other way. This infuriated Mr. Grewall, who termed the present holders of forest management licenses "timber maharajas", believing that the current system could revert to a form of feudalism he had left behind in India.
1 2 3 4 "Diversity flourishes in Mission". May 12, 2017. In 1950, Naranjan Grewall became the first Hindu (as it was phrased at that time) in Canada to be elected to public office, after the voting franchise was extended to visible minority groups in 1947. In 1954, he was appointed to the position of mayor of Mission City by the board and later ran for the CCF in the Dewdney riding in 1956 [...] The two most legendary personalities from the Sikh community who graced Mission, and both employed hundreds of people, owning several large mills in the area, were Herman Braich Sr. and Naranjan Grewall.
1 2 3 4 "Grewall first Indo-Canadian to hold office of mayor in Canada". February 6, 2014. He was later nominated as a provincial candidate for the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) in 1956, making him also the first visible minority to run as a candidate in Canada. He was narrowly defeated by Socred Labour Minister Lyle Wicks. [...] And one of those legacies he left behind was the Mission Tree Farm. In 1958, Mission was the first municipality to be given responsibility to monitor their own forest called Tree Farm License #26. [...] During the much-heated 1956 provincial election, Grewall, as a CCF candidate, commonly addressed the issues of taxes, bridges, farmers and the forestry industry, which he claimed were being "monopolized" by a handful of large companies in the province. Grewall referred to these stakeholders as "timber maharajahs," and said the system would revert to a "form of feudalism, which I left 30 years ago."
1 2 3 "Remembering Former Mission Mayor Naranjan Singh Grewal". July 14, 2017. [...] Naranjan Grewall was a polarizing figure. He was a wealthy man who gave freely and generously to worthy causes yet fought against many of the practices that were responsible for the wealth of many of the businessmen whom he rubbed shoulders with every day. He was well respected in the community of Mission and beyond – yet there were 14 suspicious fires in sawmills he was part owner of and his own house was set ablaze by an unknown arsonist. His wife was well aware of the dangers he faced although he kept his suspicions as to who was behind the threats to himself. True to his self-reliant and honorable reputation, he refused to name anyone or make any official complaints without proof. Naranjan Grewall's death which occurred on a business trip to Seattle was officially labelled a suicide. Some of his close friends went to Seattle to try and make sense of the tragedy. What they discovered only raised more questions and indicated that the police investigation was certainly very limited in scope. There were reports of a loud quarrel in his room at the Star Motel and later that same night he moved to a different motel. There was alcohol found in the same room as his body and Grewall was never known to have drank alcohol, yet the police insist that he was alone in the room at all times.
↑ "Was Grewall Murdered And If Yes Then By Who?". July 15, 2017. "It's murder!" Those words of Helen Grewall were echoed by many friends of her late husband – former Mission Mayor Naranjan Singh Grewall – after his suspicious death in a Seattle hotel in the summer of 1957.
↑ Johnston, Hugh (1984). "The East Indians in Canada"(PDF). Canada's Ethnic Groups. Ottawa: Canadian Historical Association. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
↑ Nayar, The Punjabis in British Columbia, p. 9. "It is interesting to note that, in the BC Lower Mainland (Vancouver and surrounding municipalities, including Burnaby, New Westminster, Richmond, and Surrey), Sikhs raised outside the Punjab refer to themselves as Punjabi and use the term interchangeably with "Sikh," understanding the two as synonymous."
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Sikh temple: Kitsilano, Vancouver, c. 1910.
Sikh temple: Queensborough, New Westminster, c. 1931.
