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Sikh-Canadians Make Further Strides in British Columbia Municipal Elections
NEWS REPORTS
Sikh-Canadians have once again made a significant impact in the British Columbia municipal elections in Canada, this time around improving their presence even more.
At least two Sikhs have been elected Mayors and many city councillors and school trustees during the November 15, 2014 municipal elections held across the province.
Collin Basran has been elected as the youngest Mayor in the city of Kelowna, while Akbal Singh Mund has won the mayoral election in Vernon.
Well over a dozen more have been elected as city councillors in different municipalities.
Moe Gill has been re-elected in Abbotsford, which has also elected Kelly Chahal as city councillor. Preet Rai has been re-elected as school trustee in the same city.
In Burnaby, Sav Dhaliwal has been re-elected as city councillor, while Baljinder Narang and Harman Pandher have been re-elected as school trustees.
Dave Birdi has been re-elected as city councillor in Fort Saint James and likewise Tom Gill has been re-elected for the same position in Surrey.
Garry Thind has been elected as school trustee in Surrey.
Both in Kamloops and Kelowna, Arjun Singh and Mohini Singh have been elected as city councillors respectively.
From Prince Rupert, Gurvinder Singh Randhawa was elected as City Councillor.
Also elected as city councillors are Sarabjit Rai from Osoyoos and Dalvir Nahal from Vernon.
November 18, 2014
Conversation about this article
1: Kaala Singh (Punjab), November 18, 2014, 10:44 AM.
Congratulations to Sikh-Canadians for this fabulous success! This is the way to go. Sikhs have more political representation in Canada then in their so-called "homeland," India. Sikhs will succeed anywhere where there is freedom, democracy and equality. This also speaks volumes about the greatness of Canada and its political system that allows all communities to be equal partners. The so-called 'world's biggest secular democracy' created by the likes of the Nehrus and Gandhis, open your eyes and see what a real democracy looks like!
2: Sunny Grewal (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada), November 18, 2014, 11:25 AM.
I remember taking a course on the history of Sikhs in Canada during my undergraduate years. I still remember the opening line which was spoken by my one of my favorite professors: "In the Western world minority communities are under-represented in the political sphere, except for Sikhs, they are one of the few groups who are over-represented in regards to the size of their population". Canada has a large Hindu, Sikh and Muslim (Pakistani) population, yet it is the Sikhs who have contributed the most to its political diversity. I would like to think that Sikhi did something special for our people in establishing us as leaders rather than followers, and at the same time totally at home with democratic and secular ideals.
3: Sarvjit Singh (Massachusetts, USA), November 18, 2014, 12:34 PM.
Sunny ji: In Canada it might be true that Sikhs are represented proportionately or above their numbers. In the West -- USA, Canada, UK -- the Jews, another minority whose total numbers are in fact smaller than of the Sikhs, are also far above their proportionate numbers. Despite this success, it would be nice to see Sikhs in public services also in larger numbers.
4: Sunny Grewal (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada), November 18, 2014, 3:27 PM.
@3: Maybe the analysis should be lowered to visible minorities rather than minorities as a whole. The Jews do very well, but it doesn't hurt that they can hide their Middle-east-ness and pull off posing as 'white.'
5: R Singh (Canada), November 18, 2014, 8:22 PM.
There are European Jews and the Middle Eastern/Sephardic Jews. The former are not that visible to begin with, and a lot of them hide behind English names. It was the European Jews that came into the West predominantly.
6: Kulvinder Jit Kaur (Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada), November 19, 2014, 8:49 AM.
It is true that Jews blend in with the mainstream population and they also have the advantage of being fiscally very strong (as a group). Moreover the Jews have been in the western hemisphere far longer and therefore accustomed to Western ways. However, in spite of many challenges, including our physical appearance and as comparatively new settlers in the Western world, countless Sikh individuals have made their mark. We still have far to go as a group; a lot of adjusting to western ways.
7: Kaala Singh (Punjab), November 20, 2014, 10:40 AM.
Assimilation is a huge problem among all ethnic minorities, be it Sikhs or Jews. Sikhs should integrate and not assimilate. Even in their so-called homeland of India, and especially after the 1984 genocides, a lot of Sikhs assimilated to save their lives and the same goes for the Jews who cannot live with their own identities in the "civilized" West, especially in Europe. But Jews have done extremely well, especially in North America, where the society is by and large tolerant and fair. The same cannot be said about India and Europe. Sikhs and other minorities persecuted in their homelands have a real chance to develop and bloom in North America.