Travel

The Sikh Town of Malton

PARDEEP SINGH NAGRA

I never really understood why my hometown never gets its due.

There probably isn’t one Sikh in Canada who can’t trace a family member or friend back to Malton. Which could therefore also easily be said about Punjab: “There probably isn’t one Sikh in Punjab …!”

Malton today could very easily be labelled a ‘Sikh Town’, not unlike the historic Sikh towns and villages of British Columbia: Duncan, Paldi, Surrey, Abbotsford …

Malton traces its roots back to 1820 when it was a “Police Village”, a term used to describe a form of municipal government used in the province of Ontario, Canada, beginning in the early 19th century. It applied to settlements where the finances or population of the area did not permit the creation of a full-fledged village.

Later, in the 20th century, it became an industrial aviation hub (Victory Aviation) of Canada and therefore, not surprisingly, Germany had it on its radar to bomb during the World War II. 

Greater Toronto’s international airport -- the Pearson Toronto International Airport -- is located in Malton. Originally called Malton Airport, it was the site of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan facilities during the wartime years.

In 1942, the Canadian Government expropriated the north part of the former Fred Codlin farm and built 200 military-style houses for war-time workers. “Victory Village” streets had war-time references; Victory, Merit, McNaughton (Andrew McNaughton, commander of the Canadian Forces in the UK), Churchill and Lancaster (Avro Lancasters were built at Victory Aircraft from 1943 to 1945). The Victory Community Hall was built shortly after.

By 1958, Malton acquired an international reputation as a leader in aeronautical design and manufacturing. It was the home of the famous Avro Arrow, Canada's first supersonic aircraft, still believed to have been years ahead of its time.

Marvin Heights subdivision was built in the late 1950s and by the 1960’s Sikhs had started to settle in Malton. 

My family settled in Malton in the early 1970’s and our second house was on Victory Crescent. I attended Marvin Heights Elementary School. I then went on to middle school at Lancaster P.S. 

By the mid 70’s and into the 1980’s, Malton had become one of the hubs of the Sikh community in Ontario, requiring it to build the suburb’s first gurdwara in the early 80’s. Large numbers of Sikh-Britons were immigrating to the area, and then themselves became the magnet for further waves of immigration.

Recently when there were signs in the community referring to it as ‘Malton Village,’ I thought it should more accurately be named Malton Pind!

It is so interesting how everything is interconnected to Malton as I reflect on the events of this week. 

Sardar Gurbax Singh Malhi was the first turbaned Sikh to be elected to a parliament in the western hemisphere. He then represented the Malton riding as a Liberal.

I remember in 1993 when the soon to be elected Prime Minister of Canada, Jean Chrétien visited Malton during his campaign. This was just the start of things to come, heralding the area as one of those critical in the province‘s and the country‘s elections.

In 1999, Raminder Singh Gill was the first Sikh in Ontario to be elected to the Provincial Legislator. His riding covered Malton.

In this century, Dr. Kuldip Singh Kular was an MPP from Malton, Baljit Singh Gosal was the Federal Minister of Sport, also representing Malton.

The current Deputy Leader of the New Democratic Party ("NDP") in Ontario, Jagmeet Singh, represents Malton.

And, most famously, Canada’s newly minted Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (he's also The Registrar General of Canada, and The Keeper of The Great Seal of Canada), Navdeep Singh Bains, represents Mississauga – Malton. 

Many great athletes, professionals and community activists hail from this town. 

Thus Malton has become the focal point of a thriving Sikh-Canadian locality just as the historic Second Avenue Gurdwara and its surrounding area in Vancouver (on the distant West Coast in British Columbia) was when the first Sikh-Canadian pioneer settlers organized themselves in 1908. 

In fact, the Sikh Heritage Museum of Canada (www.shmc.ca) is located in Malton and in keeping with the great Sikh military legacy, I would encourage eeryone to come out to our special, “Outwhiskered,” which coincides with Remembrance Day this year.

Interestingly, Malton seems to have its own heartbeat and I would argue its own distinct identity. 

Take for instance Minister Navdeep Singh’s riding title of Mississauga - Malton. Malton is part of Mississauga! Yet it is separated as a riding title.

Maybe it is time for Malton to assert its own distinct moniker!


November 9, 2015
 

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