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Call Us
+1 250-383-5443
Visit Us
1210 Topaz Ave, Victoria, BC V8T 2N1
Our Mission
"To foster community bonds and development through spiritual, educational, social, and sports initiatives, with a particular emphasis on engaging youth and families"
About Khalsa Diwan Society (The Sikh Temple)
The opening of the The Sikh Gurudwara at Topaz street in 1912
History
Early Sikh Settlers
Kesur Singh, a Risaldar Major in the British India Army, is credited with being the first Sikh settler in Canada. He was amongst a group of Sikh officers who arrived in Vancouver on board Empress of India in 1897.They were on the way to Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. Sikhs found employment in laying the tracks of the Canadian Pacific Railway, in lumber mills and mines. Though they earned less than white workers, they made enough money to send some of it to India and make it possible for their relatives to immigrate to Canada.
A notable moment in early Sikh history in Canada was in 1902 when settlers first arrived in Golden, British Columbia to work at the Columbia River Lumber Company. This was a theme amongst most early Punjabi Sikh settlers in Canada to find work in the agricultural and forestry sectors in British Columbia. Punjabi Sikhs became a prominent ethnic group within the sawmill workforce in British Columbia almost immediately after initial arrival to Canada.
The early settlers in Golden built the first Gurdwara (Sikh Temple) in Canada and North America in 1905, which would later be destroyed by fire in 1926.The second Gurdwara to be built in Canada was in 1908 in Kitsilano (Vancouver), aimed at serving a growing number of Punjabi Sikh settlers who worked at nearby sawmills along False Creek at the time.The Gurdwara would later close and be demolished in 1970, with the temple society relocating to the newly built Gurdwara on Ross Street, in South Vancouver.
As a result, the oldest existing Gurdwara in Canada today is the Gur Sikh Temple, located in Abbotsford, British Columbia. Built in 1911, the temple was designated as a national historic site of Canada in 2002 and is the third-oldest Gurdwara in the country. Later, the fourth Gurdwara to be built in Canada was established in 1912 in Victoria on Topaz Avenue, while the fifth soon was built at the Fraser Mills (Coquitlam) settlement in 1913, followed a few years later by the sixth at the Queensborough (New Westminster) settlement in 1919,and the seventh at the Paldi (Vancouver Island) settlement, also in 1919
1912 - 1969
The Khalsa Diwan Society established Gurdwara in 1912, with the current modern structure dating back to 1969. The opening included a grand parade through downtown Victoria, led by Prof. Teja Singh, a Harvard graduate and temple leader, preaching the "gospel of equality. The initial concrete and brick building, designed by architect H.S. Griffith in 1912, housed the Sikh temple. Sikhs have been part of the Victoria community since 1904 when the first immigrants from India arrived, finding employment in the forest industry and nearby lumber mills along the Gorge.
In 1969, the original temple was replaced with a new and larger one costing $200,000. The updated structure, atop 41 steps, offers a magnificent view of Victoria.
100 years anniversary in 2012
In May 2012, The Khalsa Diwan Sikh Temple celebrated its 100th anniversary at 1210 Topaz Avenue. Various leaders, including Federal Immigration & Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney, Premier Christy Clark, and local MLAs, congratulated the Sikh community for its 100 years in Victoria.