1908[EoS]

First permanent gurdwara in Canada

Name: First permanent gurdwara in Canada
Start: 1908
Location: Vancouver

Sikhs in Vancouver, led by the Khalsa Diwan Society, build the first permanent gurdwara in Canada. It becomes the centre of community life and of the campaign against immigration restrictions.

FoundingInstitutionModern📍 Vancouver

More than 5,000 South Asians, over 90 per cent of them Sikhs, reached Canada before the ban of 1908, according to The Canadian Encyclopedia. Numbers soon fell to about 2,000. Gurdwaras became the main community institutions, giving aid to people in need and organising the fight against the ban.

The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism says the society later opened gurdwaras at places such as New Westminster, Abbotsford and Victoria. It helped Indian immigrants win the vote in 1947, and a special agreement in 1951 annulled the legislation of 1908.[EoS][EoS]

Dates in the sources

1908: The date of the society itself differs. The Canadian Encyclopedia says it was created in 1906 and built the gurdwara two years later. The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism says the society was formed on 13 March 1909.[EoS][EoS]