TORONTO (TIP): Streets of Toronto, the business capital of Canada, reverberated to the beats of music, recitation of holy hymns from sacred Sri Guru Granth Sahib besides amazing display of gatka, traditional martial art of Sikhs, to mark the Khalsa Srijana Divas. Hundreds of thousands of Sikhs drawn from all over Greater Toronto area and nearby areas assembled at Nathan Philip square to mark celebrations held annually to recognizes the Sikh New Year and the establishment of Khalsa, the purest of the pure.
Toronto’s downtown witnessed a splash of colors to mark the festivities that also rich overtones of music and festivities as part of this year’s Khalsa DaVancouver this year had to be restricted to Downtown Toronto and Nathan Phillip Square Area because of the ongoing preparations for the FIFA World Cup as Toronto and Vancouver will hold 13 of the FIFA World Cup matches starting on June 12.
Also known as Vaisakhi, Khalsa Day recognizes the Sikh New Year and the establishment of the Sikh community in 1699. Organized by the Ontario Sikhs and Gurdwaras Council, the annual parade is the third-largest in Canada and typically attracts thousands of spectators.
To accommodate the influx of people in Toronto for the parade on Sunday, both the TTC and GO Transit added extra services.
As the 2026 Toronto Khalsa Day (Vaisakhi) Parade was held at Nathan Phillips Square (City Hall) with festivities from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and the parade that started at 1:30 p.m., leaders of all major political parties made a beeline to address the Punjabis in general and the Sikhs in particular. Due to FIFA-related events, the downtown parade followed a modified route starting and finishing at City Hall.
On the other coast, the 2026 Surrey Khalsa Day Vaisakhi Parade, recognized as the world’s largest, took place last Saturday drawing over 500,000 attendees. The event featured a massive Nagar Kirtan procession starting and ending at the Gurdwara Dasmesh Darbar Temple showcasing community floats, live music, and free food (langar).
Festivities ran from 9 in the morning to 6 in the evening, with the main procession starting around 9 am. Thousands of participants and visitors enjoyed extensive Langar (free community meals) provided by local businesses and families. The parade was a massive, multi-cultural event attracting over 500,000 people, making it one of the largest Vaisakhi celebrations outside of India.
Similar parades were organized elsewhere in Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and other places this month.
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