Seventy-two years ago, a young man from Punjab set a new trend in Canadian politics. He became the first ever South Asian to get elected to a public office. Now more than a hundred migrants of Punjabi descent are in the fray for Municipal elections in  five Canadian provinces in October/November this year.

Municipal elections are due in British Columbia (October 15), Northwest Territories (October 17), Ontario (October 24), Manitoba (October 26) and Prince Edward Island (November 7).

Municipalities in these provinces will not only elect Mayors and Councillors but also Regional Councillors and School Board Trustees. Those in the run now include Canada born young professionals who have now opted for life in the public domain. The municipal elections are for a term for four years.

“Thank you all citizens of Mission City. It is a credit to this community to elect the first East Indian to public office in the history of our great dominion. It shows your broad-mindedness, tolerance and consideration, ” read a public notice (advertisement) given by Niranjan Grewal in a local newspaper in Mission in British Columbia in 1950.

Known in his friends circle as “Giani”, Naranjan Grewall was the first Indian ever elected to any political office in North America. Born in Dhudike,  “Giani”  moved to British Columbia in 1925. In 1941, he made Mission City  in Fraser Valley as his hometown. Grewall worked as a millwright at Fraser Mills and was elected a union official.

He owned and operated six sawmill companies  to emerge as one of the largest employers and most influential business leaders in British Columbia. In 1950, he decided to run for a political office in his home city. He entered into an electoral battle  against six other contestants  in  the board of commissioners election in Mission city.

Popular as he was, “Giani”  finished at the top. Two years later, he was elected for his second successive term during which he was unanimously chosen chairman of the board by his fellow commissioners for the year 1954.

When Mission City went to polls in 2018, it elected two Councillors – Ken Herar and Jag Gill. Now when it goes to polls again in October this year, there will be  no candidate of Punjabi origin in the line to become Mayor of the City of Naranjan Grewal. Though Mission may not have a Punjabi Mayor in 2022, many other municipalities in British Columbia, Ontario and Manitoba will witness candidates of Punjabi origin running for Mayoral posts.

Trend set in motion by Naranjan Grewall in British Columbia has been carried forward by Jyoti Gondek (Calgary) and Amarjeet Sohi (Edmonton) who both were elected Mayors in October last year.

Jyoti holds Doctorate in Urban Sociology while Amarjeet Sohi had an interesting political journey starting his career as a Bus Driver. He remained a Councillor as well as MP. He served as Federal Minister, both for Infrastructure and Communities as well as Minister of Natural Resources.

Jyoti Gondek also happens to be the first woman Mayor of Calgary and first woman of Indian origin to hold this position. The growing enthusiasm of the Indo-Canadian community in municipal politics is reflected by the number of community candidates in the Mayoral run.In Toronto, there are three candidates of Indian origin in the fray. They are Sandeep Srivastava, Knia Singh and Arjuna Gupta.

In Brampton, the Canadian Punjab, there are four candidates of Indian origin in the fray for Mayor’s post. Vidya Sagar Gautam, Nikki Kaur, Prabh Kaur Mand and Bob Singh will oppose the incumbent Patrick Brown in the October 24 election. Bob Singh who had earlier filed his nomination as a Councillor in Mississauga is now a Mayoral candidate.

In Mississauga, another city with a substantial South Asian migrant population, there are at least  two candidates of Indian origin in the Mayoral run. They are Derek Ramkissoon and Jayesh Trivedi.

In Vaughan, it is Parveen Bola, a trained Nurse, who will be opposing former Ontario Liberal leader, Stephen Del Luca. Also in the fray is Robert Gulassorian, a real estate agent.

Besides Param Singh in Ottawa, another Indian migrant contesting as Mayor is Rajiv Dhawan from Milton.

(Prabhjot Singh is a veteran journalist with over three decades of experience covering a wide spectrum of subjects and stories. He has covered  Punjab and Sikh affairs for more than three decades besides covering seven Olympics and several major sporting events and hosting TV shows. For more in-depth analysis please visit probingeye.com  or follow him on Twitter.com/probingeye)