OTTAWA—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau formally apologized in the House of Commons on May 18 for a 1914 government decision that barred most of the passengers of the Japanese steamship Komagata Maru from entering Canada.
The chartered vessel was carrying 376 Indian passengers, nearly all of them Sikhs, bound for what they thought would be a new life in Canada.
They were hoping to challenge current immigration laws which refused entry to any Indians who had not arrived in Canada via a continuous journey from the home country—nearly impossible at the time.
Except for 20 passengers who had previously lived in Canada, Canadian officials refused to allow the Indians in, even though they were British subjects just like every other Canadian of the time.
The vessel returned to India, where 19 of the passengers were killed in a skirmish with British authorities and dozens of others were imprisoned or forced into hiding.
