Ontario, Canada: The Sikh Federation Canada has released its 2026 Sikh Advocacy Mandate, a comprehensive policy document outlining the Sikh community’s key priorities for elected officials and policymakers across Canada. The Mandate was made public on 20 December 2025 and is grounded in one of the most extensive community-led consultative exercises undertaken by Sikhs in Canada.
According to the Sikh Federation Canada, the Mandate emerged from a Canada-wide consultation conducted in May 2025, which engaged Gurdwara leadership, community organizations, and nearly 2,000 grassroots respondents. “With 1,998 total responses, this represents one of the most robust community-led data efforts of its kind, designed to inform public policy, political advocacy, and community action,” the document notes, adding that the results were “unequivocal,” showing unified priorities across geographic and demographic lines.
The organization said the timing of the Mandate is critical, citing an “unprecedented convergence of threats” facing Sikhs in Canada. These include foreign interference and transnational repression linked to India, which have been documented by Canada’s Foreign Interference Commission, as well as a rise in domestic far-right movements and disinformation campaigns fuelling anti-Sikh hate. The assassination of Sikh community leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar is described in the Mandate as a turning point that “demands sustained action” from Canadian institutions.
Framed under the theme “Combating Discrimination & Hate, Defending Civil Liberties, Advancing Justice,” the Mandate sets out five core areas of policy intervention. These include combating anti-Sikh hate, rebuilding public trust and transparency, countering foreign interference and transnational repression, ensuring meaningful Charter protections, and pursuing a principled foreign policy rooted in human rights.
Among its key recommendations, the Sikh Federation Canada calls for the establishment of dedicated federal funding to support community-led initiatives against anti-Sikh hate, warning that “there are currently little to no resources available to the community to collectively combat these threats.” It also urges the federal government to launch an independent public inquiry into Indian activity in Canada, stating that previous investigations “only scratched the surface” of transnational repression.
The Mandate further demands concrete protections for political dissidents facing credible threats, including security support and institutional safeguards, while calling for reforms to Canada’s extradition laws to ensure “robust judicial oversight, accountability, and comprehensive protection of Charter rights.” On foreign policy, it stresses that Canada’s engagement with India must reflect “unwavering adherence to democratic values, human rights standards, and international law.”
Describing the document as an open call to collaboration, the Sikh Federation Canada said, “This document is an invitation to partnership. Through these proposals, we seek to work collaboratively with leaders and stakeholders across the country to build a safer, more inclusive, and resilient shared future.” The organization emphasized that the challenges outlined in the Mandate require coordinated action at all levels of government and asserted that the Sikh community is “organized and ready to engage.”
2026 Sikh Advocacy Mandate – Download PDF
