In the year 1907 South Asians living in Canada were denied the right to vote in Canada. This, in spite of the fact that South Asians had a formidable presence in Canada beginning in 1897. Forty years of lobbying, community rallying, fundraising and protesting finally resulted in the South Asian’s gaining the right to vote in 1947.
In commemoration of the 150th celebrations of Canadian Confederation, the South Asian Studies Institute curated an exhibit highlighting this significant, yet underappreciated struggle within Canadian history.
The exhibit, based on months of intensive archival research, was titled (Dis) Enfranchisement 1907-1947: The Forty-Year Struggle for the Vote.
The exhibit launched on February 19th, 2017 at the Sikh Heritage Museum at the National Historic Site, Gur Sikh Temple in Abbotsford, BC with a wonderful show of community support for the project and the narrative. The project was part of the Canada 150 commemorations and supported by the Ministry of Canadian Heritage.
