There are over one million strong people of the Indian Diaspora across Canada. They are among the most successful and affluent communities across the nation. They play five significant roles as investor, customer, supplier, ambassador, and philanthropist. They are high in demand because of their reputation as the most skilled and hard working group of people. There are many who have been a part of the House of Commons in Ottawa representing their constituents as members of Canadian Parliament. They are firmly entrenched in the civil society and have been known to make a significant contribution to the cultural mosaic of Canada.
In the last few decades Indian Diaspora in Canada has experienced a considerable growth of capital formation. At a time when India is being viewed as the next emerging market, the India Diaspora is playing a vital role as the ambassadors of India in Canada. This strategic partnership is highly valued by India as well as Canada.
The pioneers of the Indo-Canadian community came around the beginning of the twentieth century. These were men, mostly Sikhs from the Punjab. Many of these men were veterans of the British Army. In 1897 a contingent of Sikh soldiers came to London to participate in the Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in London, England. On the way back home they decided to visit the western coast of Canada, primarily British Columbia. The Canadian government offered these men an opportunity to stay and populate the region to prevent takeover of the territory by the United States
However, upon arrival to British Columbia, the first Sikh immigrants faced widespread racism by the local white Canadians. Most of the white Canadians feared workers who desired less pay, and that an influx of more immigrants would threaten their jobs. As a result there were a series of race riots that targeted the Sikh immigrants, who were beat up by mobs of angry white Canadians.These mobs not only targeted Indians, but also other Asian group such as the Chinese immigrants working on the railroad at the time and Black Canadians. From the social pressure most decided to return back to India, while a few stayed behind. To support the white Canadian population on the west coast of Canada
In 1914, the Komagata Maru a steam liner carrying 376 passengers from Punjab, India (all were British subjects) arrived in Vancouver. Most of the passengers were not allowed to land in Canada and were returned to India. When the Kamagata Maru returned to Calcutta (now Kolkata), they were fired upon by the British, many died. Viewing this as evidence that Indians were not treated as equals under the British Empire, they staged a peaceful protest upon returning to India. British forces saw this as a threat to their authority, and opened fire on the protestors, killing many. This was one of the most notorious “incidents” in the history of exclusion laws in Canada designed to keep out immigrants of Asian origin.
Policies changed rapidly during the second half of the 20th century. The Canadian government re-enfranchised the Indo-Canadian community with the right to vote in 1947. In 1967 all immigration quotas based on specific ethnic groups were scrapped in Canada.The social view in Canada towards people of other ethnic backgrounds was more open. Canada introduced an immigration policy that was based on a point system, with each applicant being assessed on their trade skills and the need for these skills in Canada. This allowed many more Indians to immigrate in large numbers. In the 1970s, thousands of immigrants came yearly and mainly settled in Vancouver and Toronto. In the 1980s and early 1990s, tens of thousands of immigrants continued to move from India to Canada. According to Statistics Canada, since the late 1990s roughly 25,000-30,000 Indians arrive each year (which is now the second-most populous cultural group immigrating to Canada each year, behind Chinese immigrants who are the largest group). The settlement pattern in the last two decades is still mainly focused around Vancouver, but other cities such as Calgary, Edmonton and Montreal have also become desirable due to growing economic prospects in these cities.
As of 2009, the Indo-Canadian population has passed the 1 million mark.
Toronto has the largest Indian Community in Canada. Almost 51% of the entire Indo-Canadian community resides in the Greater Toronto Area. Most Indians in Toronto live in Brampton, Gerrard Street, Rexdale, Scarborough, and Mississauga. The Indians are mostly of Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi and Tamil origin.
Around 20% of the entire Indian Community in Canada resides in the Vancouver area. Settlement by Indians has occurred increasingly since the point system was introduced to allow immigrants into Canada.
The highest density concentrations of Indo-Canadians are found in Vancouver, Surrey, Burnaby, Richmond, Abbotsford and Delta. Recently, more Indians have been moving to other areas outside of Metro Vancouver. The city of Surrey has over 107,000 South Asians, comprising almost one-third of the city’s population. The Punjabi Market neighborhood of South Vancouver also has a particularly high concentration of Indian residents, shops and restaurants.
A large majority of Indo-Canadians within Vancouver are of Punjabi Sikh origin. However, there are also populations with other ethnic backgrounds including Gujarati, Tamil, Kannadigas, Malayalees, Bengali, Urdu, and Sindhi.
5% of the Indo-Canadian Community resides in Calgary. Calgary has one of the fastest growing Indian Communities in Canada. Indians are the second-largest minority in Calgary after the Chinese.
In 2009, a group of Canadian and Indian citizens registered their protest against the Canadian government over the infamous Komagata Maru ship incident of 1914, which involved 300 Indians mostly Sikhs seeking entry into Canada through sea but were disallowed to enter Canada.
The Prime Minister’s statement addressed the government’s treatment of hundreds of South Asians who came from India by boat but were denied entry into Canada in the early 1900s and offered an apology on the behalf of the government of Canada.
2011 has been called the year of India in Canada. This entire year is dedicated to building stronger ties between the two nations. Therefore the Indian Diaspora has now finally taken its rightful place in the Canadian milieu.
Jay Banerjei is the National Co-ordinator for GOPIO (Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin) in Canada. He works with Re/Max brokerage in the Greater Toronto area, one of the largest property brokerages in the Greater Toronto Area. An avid squash player, Jay has been instrumental in setting up the Canadian arm of the organisation.
