Aboard the Komagata Maru, 1914. (Courtesy of Vancouver Public Library)
- Late 1800s: It is thought that the first Sikhs came to Canada at this time. Sikh immigration was prohibited in 1908, but more than 5000 had already come to B.C. before then.
- 1907: The first Gurdwara (temple) was constructed at 1866 West 2nd Ave in Vancouver by the newly created Khalsa Diwan Society. Many immigrants received hostility and as a result used the temple not only as a place of worship but also as a safe haven.
- 1911: A Sikh Temple was constructed on South Fraser Way in Abbotsford. The Trethewey family (owners of the Abbotsford Lumber Company, the largest employer of Sikhs in Abbotsford at the time) offered free lumber to build the temple.
- 1914: A ship named the Komagata Maru set sail for Canada carrying a group of 376 Punjabis, mostly Sikhs. Indian immigrants who sought admittance into Canada were required to come by continuous passage from their country of origin, which was impossible at the time. When the ship reached Vancouver, the passengers were not allowed ashore and were held on board for two months. In July, the ship and most of its passengers left for Calcutta after the Canadian Navy vessel, The Rainbow, was ordered to blow the ship up if it did not leave Canada. In Calcutta, they were met by suspicious police and a riot ensued resulting in twenty-six passengers being shot and killed.
- 1920s: Sikh permanent residents were finally allowed to bring over their wives and children to Canada.
- 1947: It had been over 50 years since the first Sikh immigrants had arrived in Canada. Still they did not have the right to vote. Sikhs held town hall meetings and lobbied local politicians and the government in Ottawa to change the law. By rallying to the cause, Sikhs won the right to vote.
- 1950: In Mission, B.C., Narajan Singh Grewal became the first Sikh elected to a city council.
- 1950-70: Many Sikhs came to Canada as immigration boomed after the war. They settled in major centers across the country. The immigration boom was a result of Canadian immigration laws becoming more liberalized and racial quotas being lifted.
- 1983: New Sikh Temple built across from old one on South Fraser Way in Abbotsford. The cost of the temple was around $2.4 million. That cost included a library and school that was part of the temple building.
- 1985: 329 people were killed when Air India Flight 182, which originated in Vancouver, blew up en route to London. Of those, 278 were Canadians, most of them of South Asian descent. No one has ever been charged, although the prime suspect was a Sikh militant who fled Canada and died in a shootout with Indian police in 1992.
- 1986: B.C.’s Moe Sihota became the first Sikh elected to a Canadian legislature.
- 1990: Constable Baltej Singh Dhillon becomes the first baptized Sikh to join the RCMP. The RCMP dress code had to be changed to allow a turbaned Sikh to join.
- 1993: Gurbax Singh Mahli and Harbans (Herb) Dhaliwal became the first Sikhs elected to the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa.
- 1997: The Guru Nanak temple in Surrey was the scene of a violent clash when militants, who had controlled it for the past 10 years, insisted worshippers sit on the floor to eat their meals rather than use table and chairs. An edict from India had stated that tables and chairs should be removed from the dining areas (langar) of North American temples. This separated Sikhs into two groups, one in favor of keeping the tables and chairs, the other against. Moderate members regained control of the temple in a subsequent election.
- 2000: Ujjal Dosanjh became BC's 33rd Premier on February 24, 2000. He was the first Indian-Canadian and first visible minority premier in Canadian history.
- 2003: Due to the split between moderate and traditionalist Sikhs a new Gurdwara is created in Abbotsford on Blueridge Drive. The cost of the temple was estimated at $8.3 million for the temple and $1.4 million for the property. The temple includes classrooms for teaching children the basics of the Sikh religion, a main worship area, and a 3500 square foot langar (community kitchen).
