The skyline in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Winnipeg School Division operates a bilingual Punjabi program for students in kindergarten to Grade 2.
Written by Rebecca Schmor
Punjabi — native to the Punjab region in India and Pakistan — is one of the most widely spoken Indo-Aryan languages, with 150 million speakers around the world. As of 2021, Punjabi is the third most spoken non-official language in Canada after Spanish and Mandarin. The province of Manitoba is home to a growing community of over 30,000 Punjabi speakers, offering a variety of cultural and linguistic programming.
The Punjabi Cultural Association of Brandon, Manitoba, offers classes in Bhangra, a popular folk dance originally performed during the harvest season. Platforms such as CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) and Eventbrite have featured Punjabi musicians and activities across Manitoba. Meanwhile, the Winnipeg School Division operates a bilingual Punjabi program for students in kindergarten to Grade 2. The University of Manitoba also hosts events featuring the Punjabi language and culture, such as movie and heritage nights.
The presence of Punjabi language and culture in Manitoba and across Canada is also seen in the profiles of prominent Punjabi Canadians engaged in politics, sports, and music.
Diljeet Brar
Diljeet Brar was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba in 2019 and successfully passed the Turban Day Act in 2022. Previously, Brar was the head of Bulla Arts International, a Winnipeg-based organization offering educational programs in Punjabi arts and culture.
Jagmeet Singh
In federal politics, Jagmeet Singh (Jagmeet “Jimmy” Singh Dhaliwal) became the first turban-wearing, practicing Sikh to lead a major Canadian political party, the New Democratic Party, in 2017. Born in Ontario and raised in Newfoundland and Labrador as well as Michigan, Singh studied law and worked as a criminal defence lawyer before entering politics. Through his political engagement, he advocates for increased corporate taxation and support for middle class families.
Amar Dhesi
Amar Dhesi (Amarveer Singh Dhesi), born in British Columbia, is a Canadian wrestler of Punjabi descent. Dhesi was named to Canada’s Olympic team in 2020 and has represented Canada in the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games. He has also competed in men’s 125 kg events at the World Wrestling Championships in Norway (2021) and Serbia (2022), where he took home the gold medal. In 2013, Dhesi became the first Canadian to obtain a full scholarship for wrestling at a US university. He is also the only Punjabi to compete at the top level of college wrestling and the first Sikh to win the Pac-12 Championships.
Karan Aujla
Global music icon Karan Aujla (Jaskaran Singh Aujla) was born in Punjab, India, and emigrated to Canada in 2014. Aujla’s rise to fame in 2018 came with the song “Don’t Worry” featuring Gurlez Akhtar. Since then, his songs and albums have topped international charts, reaching #8 in India and #9 in Canada, making him the most listened to artist in Punjabi in 2019. His album B.T.F.U. reached #19 on Billboard’s Top Canadian Albums in 2021, and he is the first Punjabi artist to be featured in Apple Music’s Up Next Program.
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Punjabi-Canadian teacher, author, and dancer Gurdeep Pandher.
Gurdeep Pandher
Gurdeep Pandher is a Yukon-based teacher, author, and Bhangra dancer best known for his online dance classes. YouTube videos of Gurdeep dancing in the snow gained worldwide attention during the pandemic both on YouTube and from BBC News, CBC National, the Globe and Mail, CTV National, and NBC. Gurdeep’s sessions are a joyful way to introduce exercise, the land of Punjab, and the culture of the Punjabi traditional folk dance, Bhangra.
Diljeet Brar, Jagmeet Singh, Amar Dhesi, Karan Aujla, and Gurdeep Pandher are just some of the countless Punjabi Canadians contributing to the political, athletic, and musical profile in across Canada, all while maintaining and representing their Punjabi roots.
Annual Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards: Nominate a Candidate
Activity Description
In this activity, learners nominate a candidate for the annual Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards. This activity is designed for high intermediate or advanced English or French language learners at the high school level or higher, but can be adapted to other languages, levels, or contexts.
Activity Steps
Your class is being tasked with nominating a candidate for this year’s Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards. With your group members, learn about the nomination criteria, then research and propose a candidate to the class. After all the presentations, vote for a candidate and submit the winning nomination.
- Visit the Canadian Immigrant website and read some of the profiles of previous winners. With your group, discuss what characteristics or experiences the winners have in common.
- Research possible candidates in your community and select a person to nominate.
- Write a description of your chosen candidate in the target language, following the guidelines on the website:
- Describe the nominee’s positive actions, success, and achievements in their field or personal life.
- Mention any personal or professional award recognition that your nominee has received; include any groups or organizations your nominee is affiliated with.
- Provide any extraordinary obstacles or challenges they have overcome (other than the typical challenges most newcomers face).
- Include your nominee’s key strengths and positive characteristics.
- Mention why you believe your nominee is inspirational and why they deserve to be chosen for the Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award.
- Turn your description into a single presentation slide with the most essential information in bullet points.
- Present your nominee to the class.
- After learning about all groups’ nominees, vote for one candidate to nominate as a class.
- Read and give peer feedback on the description (from step 4) of the class’s winning candidate to ensure that the nomination is as strong as possible.
- Submit your nomination!
Activity Commentary
This activity engages students in exploring the contributions of Canadian immigrants, promoting positive views of diversity. Importantly, this diversity is represented in an authentic way, as the activity uses a current website showcasing the stories and achievements of real people.
The activity steps incorporate a variety of language competences and modes to promote holistic linguistic development. For instance, in step 2, learners must engage in higher-order thinking as they synthesize and evaluate the shared characteristics of previous award winners. In step 5, groups must mediate language across written and spoken modes in order to share their nominee with the class, within the constraints of the format of a single presentation slide with bullet-point information. Mediating information across different language modes and operating within constraints are important parts of real-world communication and collaboration.
