December

The Canadian Government finally allowed Sikh Canadians to sponsor a wide range of relatives, including mothers, and fathers over the age of 65. By 1962, the government removed almost all racial and national restrictions from its Immigration Act. At this time, the Canadian Government adopted open immigration rules, ending the quota-by-country system.

Sikh immigration between the years of 1962-1971 increased exponentially and would continue to rise over the years. With these changes, the second and third waves of Indian immigrants were able to take advantage of family sponsorships by joining relatives who were already well-established in Canada.

Women and children would continue to join their families. Parents and grandparents would be allowed to unite with their adult children, and siblings could also sponsor their brothers and sisters. Today there are approximately 500,000 Sikhs in Canada which represents 1.4% of the country's population.

Recognizing the contributions of the community, in 2017, April was officially named Sikh Heritage Month in British Columbia, and Canada became the first country in the world to adopt formal legislation also recognizing April as Sikh Heritage Month.