Surrey, British Columbia

Surrey is a city in British Columbia, Canada. Al Jazeera reported in December 2023 that it has about 154,000 Sikhs, 170,000 Christians and 30,000 Hindus, and that Canada has about 770,000 Sikhs, 2.1 percent of its people and the largest Sikh population outside India. Al Jazeera adds that many Sikh families came to Canada in the 1980s, fleeing a harsh crackdown in Punjab on perceived supporters of the Khalistan movement.

Key moments

• 18 June 2023: Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, president of Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara on 120th Street, was shot dead in the car park. Al Jazeera reported that two masked assailants shot him as he drove out. India had accused him in 2018 of plotting an attack in Punjab; he admitted supporting Sikh separatism but denied any involvement in violence (Global News).
• 10 September 2023: Sikhs for Justice held an unofficial, non-binding Khalistan referendum at the same gurdwara, after a school rental was cancelled. Organisers estimated that more than 100,000 people took part (Global News).
• 18 September 2023: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the House of Commons that Canadian agencies were pursuing credible allegations linking agents of the Government of India to the killing. India's foreign ministry called the allegations "absurd and motivated". Canada expelled an Indian diplomat, Pavan Kumar Rai, whom Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly identified as the head of India's foreign intelligence service in Canada.
• 3 and 11 May 2024: four Indian nationals were charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy: Karanpreet Singh, 28, Kamalpreet Singh, 22, and Karan Brar, 22, arrested in Edmonton, and Amandeep Singh, 22. They are accused, not convicted.
• 14 October 2024: the RCMP released findings on the involvement of agents of the Government of India in serious criminal activity on Canadian soil. Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc called it a grave violation of Canada's sovereignty. His statement did not mention Nijjar by name.

In the community. Al Jazeera reported that at least three Surrey Sikhs had received "duty to warn" notices from the RCMP and INSET saying their lives were in danger, and that many in the community believe local gangsters were hired by the Indian state. India has denied involvement in Nijjar's killing.