In the first decade of 1900, many residents in the Punjab area of India were facing hard times and looking for opportunity. Families would pool their resources to send their sons and husbands to find work in Canada. This was not done without preparation. Groups in Punjab formed to teach English, and agents, such as Bhai Arjun Singh, would help people connect with employment. Many of them referred to themselves as sojourners, intending to leave India for a while, make some money and return.
“It wasn’t scary for me seeing a ship for the first time, but I know it was for some other people from our village who came with my dad in 1906. Two of them went back to the village from Calcutta after they saw the ocean and the ship in the harbour. They got frightened. It didn’t look very safe. They thought that it might sink in the water and that would be the end of them. They saw the ship moving around a bit in the water with the tide, they said we’re not going to go on that! So my dad came to Canada and the other two went back to the village.”
Next came the journey itself. Sikhs had to find their way to Calcutta, a 2-6 day train trip of approximately 2,000 kilometers. With no way to know shipping schedules ahead of time, the travelers stayed at a temple until they could board a ship. Passengers had to bring their own food and cooked it themselves on small stoves. Many preferred this, as it was a way to observe dietary restrictions.
The first stop, 15- 20 days later, was Hong Kong where they were given medical examinations, interviews, and documentation while, again, staying at the gurdwara. Once over these hurdles, they boarded a ship for Canada, at a cost of between $100 to $200. At the time this was a small fortune, yet by 1904 there were 258 Sikhs listed in the BC census. By the 1920s, four CPR ships made the trip between Hong Kong and Vancouver every 15 days. They were the Empress of Asia, Empress of Japan, Empress of Canada, and the Empress of Russia.
“When our boat was still out in the harbour and we approached the city of Victoria, I thought what kind of place is this? I didn’t see any farms or crops, just forest, like a jungle. Where do they get their food? What am I going to do in such a poor country? All I saw were trees, I couldn’t see any big buildings yet, just tiny little shacks. Can this be Canada?”