Ujjal Dosanjh

Location:British Columbia| Profession: Lawyers/Judges - Politicians

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Karen Kain 1971

Ujjal Dosanjh was born in Punjab province, India. He immigrated to England at the age of seventeen, before coming to Canada four years later. While working at a lumber mill in Vancouver, he attended night school, eventually getting a degree which allowed him to attend law school. In 1979, he opened his own practice, representing new Indo-Canadians in their labour relations. He started running for the NDP in provincial elections in 1979 and by 2000 became the first premier of Indian origin. In 2004, he switched to federal politics and became the Minister of Health in the Liberal cabinet.

Karen Kain 2005

Profile

Immigrating to Canada:

I came right to Vancouver and I fell in love with the place. It was a sunny day in May. I flew into a very small airport and took a cab to my aunt’s house. You could see green grass for miles on one side and on the other, you could see the ocean. I felt I had landed in heaven. I was a young kid, only twenty-one, and I decided that I’d stay here, unless I had to go back to my village. But I stayed.

In Canada, the experience was different than what I had experienced as an immigrant in England. From day one, I felt that the society was more open. It was a lot richer. Of course, Vancouver was more beautiful than any place in England. The weather was great and I was able to find work through my uncle very quickly. He got me a job in a lumber mill, pulling lumber off the grain train. As I was living here, I noticed that the Indians – what we now call Indo-Canadians – were more integrated in this society than in England. British society is more closed and less mobile. I felt more at home in Canada right away.

That didn’t mean there weren’t any problems. Of course there were. I realised that there was discrimination. There were problems with farm workers and janitors who were mainly Indo-Canadians because they were on contract so they didn’t have many rights. But you try and fight for change and make things better.

The Underdogs:

I worked at a lumber mill for a year and a half, which gave me the time to also attended night school. Then I took some courses at a community college, followed by others at Simon Fraser University. Finally, I transferred to UBC.

The lumber mill was just beside the Fraser River in Vancouver. As usual, most of the workers were Indo-Canadians and I immediately felt a kinship with them. I have always felt closer to the underdogs in society. You can always take the side of the powerful and the rich, but there’s not much fun in doing that. I always believed in my own mind that it’s the underdog that needs assistance.

While working in England, I used to hang around the Labour Party, but I never become a member. I would go to the party meetings with some friends when the local member of parliament would be there. When I came to Vancouver in 1969, I decided to join the NDP. I began helping the mill workers organise unions too. Since some of them didn’t speak much English, they needed interpretation and assistance.