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Thousands of members of the Sikh community in Manitoba took to downtown Winnipeg on Sunday afternoon for the annual celebration of the Nagar Kirtan — the Sikh religion’s holy scripture.
People of all ages gathered for the 422nd anniversary since the Guru Granth Sahib — the religion’s holy book, which Sikh’s believe is the last in a line of gurus — was installed in the Golden Temple of Amritsar, in India’s Punjab region.
Memorial Park and the surrounding area was the site of joyful celebrations, featuring traditional dance, music, prayers and food, followed by a parade.
Harbans Singh Brar, president of the Sikh Society of Manitoba, says it’s a very proud moment for the Sikh community in Manitoba — which he says consists of close to 50,000 people.
“We feel so proud to live in Winnipeg, we feel so proud to live in Canada,” said Brar.
An organizer of this year’s Nagar Kirtan event in downtown Winnipeg on Sunday afternoon said they were expecting close to 20,000 people to attend the event. (Katie Lambe/CBC)
He says they expect more than 20,000 people to have come to the celebrations on Sunday afternoon — undeterred by the recent hateful graffiti targeting the event that was circulating online, and that police are investigating.
“It doesn’t matter… you can’t stop them, you can’t stop them people,” said Brar.
“I don’t think that’s gonna make any difference, you know, like everyone is coming.”
He says they’ve been receiving support for all three levels of government, RCMP and Winnipeg police, regarding the graffiti circulating online, and have been told not to worry.
“They [police] are handling it,” he said.
Thousands from the Sikh community in Manitoba gathered and paraded through downtown Winnipeg on Sunday afternoon in a vibrant, joyful celebration of Sikh religion and culture. September 6, 2026. (Katie Lambe/CBC)
Manitoba Premier, Wab Kinew condemned the hateful graffiti in a post on social media, saying “hate and threats have no place in Manitoba.”
“I’ve spoken to leadership in the Sikh faith community to show Manitoba’s support in the face of this terrible racism and to ensure we have the resources in place needed for everyone at Nagar Kirtan to be safe,” said Kinew.
“The spirit is stronger than any hateful graffiti.”
Some in attendance like Khalsa Sandhu, from the Sikh Motorcycle Club of Manitoba, weren’t going to let any hateful rhetoric dampen their spirits.
“We’re feeling great, feeling awesome. You know, it’s all very, very colourful, vibrant colours … everyone’s in a good spirit and that’s how it should be,” said Sandhu.
“You’ve got a few bad apples, you know, let them [people who wrote the graffiti] come here, I hope they’re here, they can see what we are and maybe that will change their perspective of what we actually are as humans,” he said.
“We stand, you know, in righteousness, and if like I said, somebody does have a little issue, then maybe they should come talk to us.”
Khalsa Sandhu (far left) and the Sikh Motorcycle Club of Manitoba, were part of the procession throughout downtown Winnipeg celebrating Nagar Kirtan and Sikh culture, on Sunday afternoon. (Katie Lambe/CBC)
Sandhu and others from the Sikh Motorcycle Club of Manitoba were part of a massive procession starting and ending at Memorial Park.
“We are a loving community, a caring community — and as you’ve seen around Canada when there’s been a need, Sikhs are there,” he said.
“We are here to share our culture with everybody, doesn’t matter colour or creed.”