The Indians Abroad

Canada owes its prosperity to Punjabi settlers: Prime Minister Harper

Following the footsteps of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper took a trip to Punjab and visited Amritsar to pay his obeisance at the Golden Temple – the Sikh holy shrine.

Pointing out the contributions from Punjabi immigrants in Canada, the Prime Minister admitted that his country owes its prosperity to the perseverance and work ethics of more than a million Punjabi.
“1.2 million Punjabis out of which more than eight lakh are from Indian Punjab are settled in Canada and making significant contribution to strengthening the Canadian economy,” Harper said.

Recognizing the Punjabi settlers as partners in the Canadian progress, the Premier said that Punjabis have been contributing to the country’s development through their hard work and grit for more than a century.

The Canadian government is fully committed to preserve and promote the Punjabi culture and the Punjabi language in Canada, he added.

Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary are three main cities of Canada with large population of Indians, majority of them of Punjabi origin.

His interesting visit to India also includes meeting the dancers on an Indian reality TV show, and a photo-op with Bollywood stars.

Indian culture, as a result, is getting quite a bit exposure to the common man of Canada. The local English and French media crews in Canada are interviewing Indians on the street; Bollywood dance clips are scattered through the local new cast.

With known Canadian love affair with multi-culture foods, Samosa, chaat and other Indian – especially Punjabi – foods are likely to find more demand among non-Indian Canadians, at least temporarily!

Thank you Paji!