Survey: What matters most to Sikhs in 2025?
National Survey Reveals Overwhelming Support for Justice, Recognition, and Rights-Based Foreign Policy.
Over this past Summer, Sikh Federation (Canada) launched a grassroots survey engaging Sikhs across Canada on urgent political, human rights, and legislative issues. With 1,998 total responses, this represents one of the most robust community-led data efforts of its kind, designed to inform public policy, political advocacy, and community action.
Regional Breakdown of Canadian Respondents
- Western Canada: 28.65%
- Prairies: 33.65%
- Eastern Canada: 37.70%
Survey Findings: Five Questions, One Clear Message
Each question addressed issues of national and international importance. Below is the percentage of respondents who agreed with each statement by region:
1. Combating Hate & Disinformation "The Government of Canada should do more to fund Sikh-led initiatives to counter anti-Sikh hate."
West: 98.00% | Prairies: 97.99% | East: 86.34%
The near-unanimous support across Western and Prairie Canada reflects a growing frustration with the inadequacy of existing anti-racism frameworks. Generic programs fail to address the specific disinformation campaigns and targeted hate that Sikh communities face, particularly with narratives imported from India that seek to criminalize legitimate advocacy for Khalistan or paint Sikhs as extremists. Community members understand that those most affected by anti-Sikh hate are best positioned to counter it effectively. This demand for Sikh-led solutions represents a shift from passive recipients of government programs to active architects of community safety strategies.
2. Justice & Accountability: Call for a Public Inquiry "The Government of Canada should establish an inquiry into India's foreign interference in Canada, including Shaheed Bhai Hardeep Singh Nijjar's assassination."
West: 98.91% | Prairies: 96.60% | East: 86.90%
The assassination of Bhai Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil marked a watershed moment for the Sikh community and demonstrated that warnings about Indian transnational repression were not hyperbole but documented reality. The overwhelming support for a public inquiry reflects deep skepticism that existing mechanisms can adequately investigate foreign interference when diplomatic and economic considerations have been repeatedly documented to override domestic security concerns. Sikhs want transparency about what Canadian intelligence agencies knew, when they knew it, and why protective measures failed. This is not just about one assassination; it's about establishing how Canadian institutions failed to stop a foreign government targeting Canadian residents with violence, surveillance, and intimidation.
3. Accountability Through Sanctions "The Government of Canada should impose targeted sanctions on Indian government officials involved in violence in Canada."
West: 97.82% | Prairies: 95.05% | East: 85.38%
Support for sanctions demonstrates that Sikhs view symbolic statements and diplomatic protests as fundamentally inadequate responses to documented violence. When senior Indian officials, including Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah, have been credibly linked to orchestrating attacks on Canadian soil, the community expects Canada to use every available tool in its legal and diplomatic arsenal. The Magnitsky Act exists precisely for situations like this: to impose consequences on foreign officials who violate human rights and threaten Canadian residents. High support for sanctions reflects a belief that Canada must demonstrate that no trade relationship or strategic partnership justifies tolerating attacks on its citizens.
4. Recognition of the 1984 Genocide "The Government of Canada should officially recognize the anti-Sikh violence of 1984 as a genocide carried out by Indian state actors."
West: 99.46% | Prairies: 97.84% | East: 85.93%
The 1984 violence was not spontaneous communal riots but systematic, state-organized massacres that killed thousands of Sikhs across India. Voter lists were used to identify Sikh homes. Police stood by or participated as mobs carried out killings. Government officials coordinated attacks. Yet forty years later, Canada has not formally recognized this as genocide — a failure that many Sikhs view as emboldening India's current government to continue targeting Sikhs with impunity. The near-universal support for recognition in Western Canada, where many survivors and their descendants live, reflects how deeply this history shapes the community's understanding of present threats. Recognition is not symbolic; it establishes historical accountability and validates the experiences of those who fled state violence.
5. Human Rights Before Trade "Canada's foreign policy should prioritize human rights over trade partnerships with governments which engage in systematic human rights violations."
West: 98.55% | Prairies: 97.22% | East: 84.28%
This response reveals a fundamental tension in Canadian foreign policy that Sikhs are forcing into public debate: whether economic interests can justify partnerships with governments that grossly violate human rights. The question is not abstract — it directly addresses Canada's relationship with India, a government that operates detention camps for minorities, dismantles democratic institutions, imprisons journalists, and now stands accused of orchestrating extrajudicial violence on Canadian soil. The overwhelming support for human rights over trade represents a moral clarity that challenges Canada's tendency to compartmentalize economic relationships from human rights concerns. Sikhs are demanding that Canada demonstrate whether its stated values are principles or merely public relations.
Conclusion
The results are unequivocal. On all five issues, average support across all regions reached 93.2%, demonstrating unified priorities across geographic and demographic lines. Sikh across Canada are calling on the government to uphold the universal principles of justice, accountability, and human rights.
This survey transforms individual concerns into documented community consensus. It provides elected officials with clear evidence of what their Sikh constituents expect. Gathered in-person across gurdwaras and Sikh institutions across the country, this survey is representative of the majority view across one of Canada's largest diaspora communities.
The message to policymakers is direct: these issues are not peripheral, and they will not fade from public discourse until they are addressed with the seriousness they deserve. The community has spoken with clarity and consistency. Now it is time for policymakers to respond.
For more information, please contact info@sikhfederation.ca.
