Out of 7.7 lakh Sikhs in Canada, 30% are citizens by birth
Looking at these population figures, only very imaginative minds could argue that Trudeau was doing it for “Sikh votes”. Are these ‘experts’ still defending their thesis after recent reports coming from US ?
Jalandhar (IP Singh): Out of the total over 7.71 lakh Sikhs in Canada, over 2.36 lakh (30%) are Canadian citizens by birth, over 4.15 lakh are immigrants (permanent residents) and over 1.19 lakh are non-permanent residents. This data was released by Statistics Canada from the census data of 2021.
Out of those born in Canada, 370 Sikhs are above 75 years while 540 are in the 65-74 age group.
Of the total 8.28 lakh Hindus in Canada, over 1.90 lakh are Canadian citizens by birth, over 5.20 lakh are permanent residents and 1.17 lakh are non-permanent residents.
Apart from 5.17 lakh Indian-born Sikhs who have become permanent residents of Canada, Sikhs born in other countries too have taken residence in Canada. These include 7,160 from England, 1,535 from Pakistan, 1,530 from Kenya, 1,315 from Italy, 990 from Malaysia and 240 from Afghanistan along with other countries .
Data shows the number of Sikhs in Canada started rising after 1991 even though there were 33,535 permanent residents before 1980 and 40,440 became permanent residents between 1980 and 1990. As many as 88,210 Sikhs became permanent residents in the 1991-2000 period. This coincides with the time when Punjab Police and other security forces wiped out militancy in Punjab amid allegations of gross human rights violations, including fake encounters and disappearances. Economic and employment factors also led to rise in emigration and continue to be the biggest reason reflected in figures of two subsequent decades.
