Hundreds of thousands pack Surrey streets for Vaisakhi parade — the largest in Canada

Surrey's streets came alive with vibrant colours, music and community spirit on Saturday for the city's annual Vaisakhi Khalsa Day — an event organizers say is the largest celebration of its kind in the world. 

Vaisakhi is the annual Sikh festival that celebrates the new harvest. It also marks the creation of the order of the Khalsa in 1699 — a defining moment in Sikh history that gave the faith its final form.

"The Khalsa's virtues are that it stands up for humanity, human rights," said Moninder Singh, a spokesperson for the B.C. Gurdwaras Council and the Surrey Vaisakhi parade.

"It actually is inclusive of all people from all different backgrounds, genders, faiths … making an inclusive environment for everyone."

This year marked the 27th edition of the parade in Surrey.

Singh, who has been a part of each one of them, said the celebration has only continued to grow in scale, with an estimated 500,000 to 600,000 people attending the parade on Saturday.

"It's been really interesting to experience starting with about 50,000 to 60,000 people and now [this]," he said.

The parade began and ended at the Gurdwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar, weaving its way through the city's streets accompanied by floats, live music and dozens of volunteer-run food stalls. 

The route was lined with tents handing out everything from pakoras and sugarcane juice to full meals — part of the Sikh tradition of langar, or free communal food.

Tony Singh, owner of the Fruiticana grocery chain and a regular parade volunteer, said he served more than 100,000 people last year alongside five other vendors.

"It's a great feeling. It makes my hair stand up to see people out there … volunteering [their time] and nobody gets paid," he said. "Everybody puts their energy into it."

The large turnout Saturday also meant months of planning for the Surrey Police Service. Chief Norm Lipinski said the scale of the event has required additional resources every year.

"We've been planning for this for the last eight months," Lipinski said. "We have more than enough police officers here, including from other jurisdictions, because we still have to manage the rest of the city."

He said the mood at the event was "very family friendly" and that safety preparations included crowd control, medical assistance and help locating lost children.

A political and cultural gathering

Politicians from all levels of government were present, including Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke, B.C. Premier David Eby and federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. 

Singh said he was honoured by the number of people who approached him to share their thoughts.

"I'm always touched by how much love people show. It was overwhelming," he said. "It definitely gives you energy."

Parade organizer Moninder Singh said Vaisakhi has long served as a gathering point not just for Sikhs, but for people across the Lower Mainland and beyond to engage with each other.

This year, he said, the parade also carried a more sombre tone.

He said the Sikh community in the Lower Mainland was particularly concerned about the issue of foreign interference from India, especially after Canadian officials said they found credible information suggesting the Indian government was involved in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Surrey Sikh leader who advocated for a Sikh homeland known as Khalistan.

"This actual parade is dedicated to the memory of [Nijjar]," Singh said.

"So while there's a festive celebration going on, there are some serious matters that people are here with as well."

Last weekend, Vancouver held its own Vaisakhi parade, drawing an estimated 200,000 attendees, according to organizers.