Remembrance Day 2025: Canada honours courage and sacrifice of Sikh soldiers

Sikh soldiers of Indian origin who fought for Canada during the First World War have been honoured in the commemorative stamp launched by Canada Post to mark Remembrance Day 2025, paying tribute to their courage and sacrifices.

More than a quarter million Sikh soldiers served with Britain and its allies during the two world wars. In Canada, discrimination prevented many Sikhs from enlisting. Only 10 broke the barrier in the First World War – most of them volunteers who fought with the Canadian Expeditionary Force in Europe.

“These men rose above incredible inequity, discrimination and hardship to serve their country. This was even more difficult because they were removed from the safety nets of their community – from their family, friends, language and faith,” says Pardeep Singh Nagra, executive director of the Sikh Heritage Museum of Canada. “These stories speak of their resiliency, dedication, comradery, values, ethics and willingness to sacrifice everything to fulfill their civic duty to cause and country.”

Remembrance Day 2025 honours the forgotten sacrifices of Sikh soldiers

The discovery of a Victory Medal awarded to Private Buckam Singh, the youngest of the 10 to enlist, brought to light the forgotten stories of these and other Sikh soldiers in Canada. One of eight Sikh Canadians who fought in Europe, Buckam Singh was twice wounded in action, before being repatriated to Canada, where he died in 1919. Two others – Private Sunta Gouger Singh and Private Lashman Singh – were killed in action.

After acquiring Singh’s medal in 2008, Sandeep Singh Brar created a website on the young soldier’s life and founded an annual Remembrance Day ceremony at his gravesite at Mount Hope Cemetery in Kitchener, Ontario. The event is one of the largest annual gatherings of Sikh soldiers and veterans in North America.

“The ceremony [at Mount Hope Cemetery] allows all Canadians to honour our Sikh veterans and never forget those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our nation,” says Singh Brar, who is the event’s chief organizer.

A memorable collectible

The Remembrance Day 2025 issue is available as a booklet of six stamps and a collectible pane of five – both of which feature additional photographs related to the remembrance of the first 10 Sikh soldiers to serve with Canada. On the inside of the booklet is a part of the inscription on the cenotaph bearing the names of Private L. (Lashman) Singh and Private W. (Waryam) Singh. Buckam Singh’s grave – the only known military grave in Canada of a Sikh soldier from the world wars – appears in the background of the stamp illustration.

In the foreground is a modern-day Canadian Sikh soldier paying his respects in remembrance of those who have served. Today, Canadian Sikh soldiers continue to play an important role in Canada’s Armed Forces..