Dis-Immigration Timeline

1897 Sikh infantry regiment travelled through Canada after attending Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee
1902 Sikh infantry regiment attended the coronation of King Edward VII
1904 significant migration of Indians to British Columbia begins, census lists 258
1907 large numbers of immigrants arrive from India, anti-oriental riots in Vancouver
1907 Sikhs denied right to vote when B.C. disenfranchise all natives of India
1908 Canada passed “Continuous Journey” and “possession of $200” regulation for Indian immigrants (not required for European immigrants)
1908 Sikhs encouraged to move from Canada to British Honduras (they refuse)
1912 Gurdwaras were built in Victoria, Fraser Mills, and Abbotsford
1914 Komagata Maru sails from Hong Kong to Vancouver to challenge the “Continuous Journey” legislation, arrives in May
1914 Komagata Maru escorted from Vancouver Harbour in July, returns to India
1915-1918 ten Sikhs enlist in the Canadian Army during WWI
1918 British Columbia Sikh population dropped to 700
1918 Mayo Lumber Company built a Sikh temple at Paldi, B.C.
1920 immigration restriction lifted, allowing Indian women and children to immigrate
1925 Khalsa Diwan Society has branches at Vancouver, Abbotsford, New Westminster, Golden, Duncan, Coombs, and Ocean Falls
1944 1, 756 Sikhs in Canada, 98% of them lived in B.C.
1947 south Asian males granted to right to vote in provincial and federal elections
1957 immigration quotas of Sikhs increased to 300 per year
1962 quota system dropped in favour of non-discriminatory immigration law
1986 first Sikh elected to any provincial legislature, Moe Sihota from Esquimalt, B.C.
1989 75th anniversary of the Komagata Maru incident
1990 a plaque commemorating the Komagata Maru incident placed in Portal Park, Vancouver by municipal, provincial and federal governments
1991 three Sikhs elected to British Columbia legislature
1993 first Sikhs elected to Canadian parliament
1996 opening of Sikh Resource Centre in Vancouver to celebrate the centennial of Sikhs in Canada
2000 Ujjal Dosanjh became BC’s 33rd premier, the first Indo-Canadian premier in Canadian history
2004 Ali Kazimi’s documentary film Continuous Journey, is screened
2008 Legislative Assembly of BC unanimously passed resolution as an apology for the Komagata Maru incident
2008 Prime Minister Harper apologized for Komagata Maru incident
2011 Community Historical Recognition Program (CHRP) approves funding for documentary film: Dis-Immigration
2011 Ali Kazimi’s new book Undesirables: White Canada and the Komagata Maru is published (funded by CHRP)
2012 Documentary film Dis-Immigration: Stemming the Flow from India 1904-1914 is completed