page_title: South Asian Canadians
section_title: Early 20th century
hierarchical_section_title: South Asian Canadians / History / Early 20th century
caption_attribution_description: English: PH Coll 1373.28 Arthur B. Pracna was an architect who specialized in lumber and shingle mills in the Pacific Northwest during the early twentieth century. He was born in Minnesota in 1878 and began his buisness in Everett, Washington in 1902. He continued to work and live in the Seattle area until his death in 1948. He also designed and patented a swivel band-saw guide for use in these mills. Subjects (LCSH): Sikhs; Lumber camps--British Columbia
context_page_description: South Asian Canadians are Canadians who were either born in or can trace their ancestry to South Asia, which includes the nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal and the Maldives. The term South Asian Canadian is a subgroup of Asian Canadian and, according to Statistics Canada, can further be divided by nationality, such as Indian Canadian, Bangladeshi Canadian and Pakistani Canadian. South Asians are the second largest pan-ethnic group in Canada after European-Canadians.
  As of 2016, 1,963,330 Canadians had South Asian geographical origins, constituting 5.6% of the Canadian population and 32% of Canada's Asian Canadian population. This makes them the largest visible minority group in Canada comprising 25.6% of the visible minority population, followed by East Asian and Black Canadians respectively. The largest communities from South Asia are found in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. Metropolitan areas with large communities from South Asia include Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Montréal.
context_section_description: The first known record of Canadians from South Asia dates back to 1903, when Punjabi Sikhs arrived in British Columbia after hearing stories about the high wages being paid there from British Indian soldiers stationed in Hong Kong. Attracted by these wages, more Sikh men began immigrating into British Columbia, working mainly in industries such as mining, logging and railroads. Many of these men, who arrived without their families, settled in Vancouver, Victoria, northern BC, and what is now Abbotsford, British Columbia. By the end of 1908, 5,209 Canadians were from South Asia, nearly all of whom were Sikhs settled across British Columbia.  The Sikh community in Canada soon began to face  discrimination and xenophobia from those of European (Anglo) background similar to what Japanese and Chinese were then experiencing . European settlers viewed Asian settlers, and included the Sikhs, as a threat to the European nature of Canada.  In addition, many Asian migrants had to work for lower wages, which agitated the European (Anglo) majority of the time.  In 1907 the government in British Columbia enacted laws limiting the rights and privileges of Canadians from South Asian countries, which prevented them from voting and denied them access to holding political office, public sector jobs and other professions. In early 1908, the Continuous journey regulation was enacted in an effort to prevent South Asians from immigrating to Canada. The law required that people arriving from South Asia in Canada must "come from the country of their birth or citizenship by a continuous journey and or through tickets purchased before leaving their country of their birth or nationality." This prevented Sikh soldiers stationed in Hong Kong and Japan from immigrating to Canada. 
  A notable example of early anti-South Asian sentiments as a result of Continuous journey regulation  in Canada was the Komagata Maru incident. A successful Sikh fisherman living in British Columbia attempting to circumnavigate the Continuous journey regulation chartered a Japanese steamship known as the Komagata Maru to travel from Kolkata, India to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The ship made stops in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Yokohama, where it picked up more Eastern-Caucasian settlers. In total the ship carried 376 passengers, of whom 337 were Sikh, 27 were Muslim and 12 were Hindu. All passengers originated from the Punjab and were registered as British subjects. Upon arriving in Vancouver though the ship was not permitted to dock with several British Columbian politicians such as Conservative MP H.H. Stevens campaigning against their right to dock. Some Canadians already settled in Canada began launching 'shore committees' led by Hassam Rashim and Sohan Lal Pathak. These were to protest against the decision not to allow the settlers on the Komagata Maru no to enter Canada. Passengers threatened to start a rebellion, or ghadar, if they were forced back to India. The shore committee raised $22,000 and launched a test case legal battle in the British Columbia Court of Appeal. On July 6, the court unanimously decided they had no authority to interfere with the Department of Immigration and Colonization and had ordered the harbor tug Sea Lion to pull the ship out to sea in July 19. This resulted in rioting between the settlers on board and police officers. The ship was ultimately forced back to India on July 23, with only 20 of the settlers being allowed to stay in Canada.
  The continuous journey regulation provision remained in effect until 1947, as did most other anti-South Asian laws. However pressure from the community resulted in the Canadian government allowing the wife and children of their Canadian husband/father to immigrate. However, a population stagnation ensued and by the mid-1920s the South Asian population in Canada stood at just over 1,000 persons. Despite their declining numbers, Canadians from South Asia grew wealthier. They began to acquire their own lumber mills which were used to produce wood and sawdust for consumer purchase. During the Great Depress
caption: Punjabi Sikhs at a lumber camp, circa 1914
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