Heritage Minute’s new video profiles South Asian Canadians’ contributions to a mill town in B.C. that was founded over a 100 years ago.
The video was released on Wednesday by Historica Canada, as the country celebrates Sikh Heritage Month.
The Heritage Minute videos are a collection of bilingual Canadian short films depicting a significant person, event or story in Canadian history. The Star says this latest video is the first time in Heritage Minute’s 32-year history where it has featured the story of South Asian Canadians.
The one-minute clip is narrated from the perspective of a Sikh woman, Bishan Kaur, who left her home in Punjab, India to move to Paldi, B.C in 1927.
Kaur left India to join her husband, lumber entrepreneur Mayo Singh, in Paldi. She came to Canada shortly after legislation was revised in 1919, allowing South Asian women to immigrate.
This production wouldn’t have been possible without the outstanding cast, crew, and consultants. /5 pic.twitter.com/3upcelkFm3
— Historica Canada (@HistoricaCanada) April 19, 2023
The town was first established in 1917, about 75 km northwest of Victoria and was one of the first multi-ethnic, migrant mill towns on Vancouver Island. Singh founded the community and initially named it Mayo after himself, but ultimately changed it to Paldi after his own village in District Hoshiarpur in Punjab, India, according to The Canadian Encyclopedia.
“In the face of anti-Asian sentiments and policies, the Mayo Lumber Company was established by Sikh lumbermen in 1917 and employed South Asian, Chinese, Japanese, and white Canadian workers. The workers and their families called Paldi home until the 1980s,” the organization says on its website.
Paldi no longer has a registered population but has made its mark in Canada’s history.
Today, the historic site of the Paldi gurdwara stands as a symbol of the inclusive and multicultural community.
