The 1991 Census of data, published by Statistics Canada, tells a Story about the Sikhs. Tam sharing some of the data, conclusions and recommendations as it relates to the Sikh Canadians.

How Many Sikh Canadians? Sikh Canadian population according to the 199) census is as

Follows:

Sikh Population

Province 1991 Census Newfoundland 130 Prince Edward Island 65 Nova Scotia 330 New Brunswick 45, Quebec 4525 Ontario 50085 Manitoba 3495 Saskatchewan S65 Alberta 13550 British Columbia 74550 Yukon 40 North West Territories 60 Total 147 440 The numbers given by the 1991 Census appear to be very low, especially for Ontario, BC,, Alberta and Manitoba. Observers and people in the Sikh Gurdwaras and organizations, estimate the Sikh Canadian Population to be around 240,000 with 100,000 in BC.

100,000 in Ontario, 2000 in Alberta, 10,000 in Quebec, 8000 in Manitoba and 2000 in the rest of the provinces and territories.

The 1981 Census indicated 67 715 Sikhs in Canada. The 1991 Census represents an 8.1% per year increase in the population of Sikh Canadians from 1981 to 1991, making it one of the fastest growing segments of the Canadian society. In the same 10 years, the total Canadian population in: creased at only 1.1% per year.

 How Old Are Sikh Canadians on Average?

Sikhs Senior citizens (65 and older) make up only 5% of the Sikh Canadian population. Total population of Canada has almost 11% senior citizens. Also, average age of a Canadian Is 34, 5 years, compared to an average age of only 28.7 years for the Sikh Canadian segment.

What do these numbers mean? Contrary to the preaching of the Reform party, Sikhs (and other immigrants) do not suck away the old age pension and health care dollars in a disproportionate manner. In fact, it is probably the opposite. Since Sikhs have so few senior citizens, they probably un- der-utilize these services.

How Educated Are Sikh Canadians? Average Education All Canadians, Sikh Canadians

Less than grade 9 5% 11% Grade 9 to 13 35% 40% Some post-Secondary Edu  43% 30% University graduate 17% 20% .Sikh Canadians do very well in comparison with other Canadians. I suspect a lot of older Sikh Canadians fall in “less than grade 9” category. Sikh Canadians have more than their share of University educated Canadians. This is, in part, due to the high importance Sikh culture puts on education.

Sikh community needs these well educated population to get involved in its organizations and affairs, and nor sit on the sidelines being the Sadhs of the second tiaras Handev Singh of Toronto will say!

Who Are These South Asians?

I am always intrigued by this term. To me, none of these terms South Asians, East India or Indo- Canadian describes my ethnicity. The Indian sub-continent has many ethnic groups, just like the West Europe sub-continent has. The West European ethnic groups are divided into French, Italian, etc., I don’t see why the Indian subcontinent ethnic groups can’t be di- vided into Sikh, Tamil etc. The term “Sikh Canadian” describes clearly my religion (Sikh), ethnicity and heritage (Sikh) and nationality (Canadian).

 So, who are these South Asians? Sikh 134 790 32%

Hindu 120585 29%

Moslems 90 890 21%

Christian 54 105 13%

Others 7 $30 2%

Non-religious 12 095 5%

Total 420 295 100%

My suggestion is that we should ask Statistics Canada to specify a category of “Sikh” in the Ethnicity question.

It is interesting to note that 40 Sikhs stated Chinese as their ethnic origin, 15 as African, 25 as Jewish and 55 as Italian.

 Who is the Punjabi?

The 1991 Census data shows the following breakdown by religion of people indicating Punjabi as their mother tongue.

 Sikh 117875 86%

Hindu 10035 7% Moslems 3865 3%

No religious 2 #45 2% affiliations

Christian 1560 1%

Others 280 1%

Total 136460 100%

An additional 7260 Sikhs stated “English and non-official language (including Punjabi)” as their mother tongue. More than 90% Punjabis are Sikhs, according to this data. There are very few non- Sikh Punjabis in Canada’s, According to the Census, Punjabi is one of the most popular language in Western Canada (after English and French).

It is also interesting to note that 925 Sikhs stated French as their mother tongue and more than 300 stated other European languages as their mother tongue, such as German, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Greek and Spanish.

How Many Sikh Canadians were bom in Canada?

According to the 1991 Census, 34% of Sikh Canadians were bom in Canada. Sikhs are into the Si and 61h generations i Canada, since they have made Canada their home since the early 1900s. It is interesting that more than I out of 3 Sikh Canadians was bom in this country, and yet, they still have to fight for Heir turban, Kirpan and other rights. And, these people are frequently asked by other Canadians” Where is home?” even though Canada is the only home they know of?

 Conclusion

Based on this data and analysis, it is obvious hat Sikh Canadian have a bright future. In the next Census in 1996, all Gurdwaras, organizations and media should’ educate their members 90 they properly fill the census formic Sikh is our religion, Sikh it’s our culling and heritage, Canada is our country and Sikh Canadian is our ethnicity. Punjabi it’s our religious language and most often our mother tongue.

 About the author: Manmohan Singh (Moni) Minhas of Calgary .Albena has recently written a hard cover book entitled. The Sikh Canadians’ published Reid more Books in Edmonton. Alberta. This book summarizes the history, culture and religion of the Sikhs in Canada and is suitable for the reader of all ages – from school children to adults. He can be contacted at (403)

239-3772.

Article extracted from this publication >> April 29, 1994