A long-discussed museum dedicated to the histories, cultures and contributions of Canadians of South Asian heritages is one step closer to becoming a reality in British Columbia.
The province and the City of Surrey signed a memorandum of understanding on Sept. 18, 2026, formally setting out how the two governments will work together during the next stage of planning. The agreement does not yet establish a final site, design or opening date, but it moves the project into a more detailed phase that will include exploring potential locations, identifying possible spaces and supports, continuing community consultation and developing an implementation plan.
Surrey has emerged as a natural focal point for the project. Nearly 40 per cent of the city’s population identifies with South Asian heritages, according to the City of Surrey, while Canadians of South Asian heritages account for approximately 9.6 per cent of BC’s population overall. They are the province’s second-largest racialized population group.
The term encompasses communities with roots in countries including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives and Afghanistan, as well as diasporic communities with connections extending to places such as Fiji.
Surrey residents and government officials celebrate Baisakhi.Photo: Province Of BC
A Museum Years In The Making
Although the latest agreement represents an important step, the idea itself is not new.
The province committed in 2017 to exploring a museum focused on the histories, achievements and contributions of Canadians of South Asian heritages, building on earlier initiatives intended to recognize and address historical injustices. That commitment was reaffirmed in 2020.
The proposal has since developed through extensive public consultation.
Beginning in 2024, the province conducted a year-long engagement process involving surveys, written submissions, youth discussions, community conversations and input from academics, museum professionals and community organizations.
More than 16,000 people participated, with 46 organizations helping host 145 engagement sessions around the province. The final What We Heard report was released in August 2025.
Participants described a museum that would do more than collect artifacts.
Feedback emphasized preserving languages, traditions and family histories; documenting migration and settlement experiences; exploring racism and discrimination; celebrating cultural practices and achievements; and helping younger generations better understand where their families and communities came from.
The engagement also highlighted the diversity contained within the broad label “South Asian.” The province has acknowledged that not everyone represented by the term feels it adequately reflects their identity, and the eventual museum name has not been finalized.
Why Surrey?
Surrey was the location most frequently suggested during early public engagement.
A 2024 consultation report identified Surrey as the leading recommendation, followed by Vancouver, with participants pointing to Surrey’s large and growing South Asian communities and suggesting areas such as Newton, City Centre and Fleetwood as possible locations. Vancouver’s Punjabi Market and Komagata Maru Memorial were also cited as historically significant places.
No specific museum site has yet been announced.
Under the new agreement, the province and City of Surrey will investigate possible locations and determine what infrastructure, partnerships and other supports might be needed. Community engagement will continue as those options are developed.
Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke said the museum should ultimately be shaped by the communities whose stories it will preserve, noting that generations of South Asian Canadians have helped build the city and the province.
That community-led approach echoes much of what emerged during the consultation process: a desire for a museum that does not present South Asian history as a single story, but instead reflects different countries, religions, languages, migrations and generations.
Surrey residents celebrate Diwali.Photo: Province Of BC
Telling A Broader BC Story
The museum could also fill a larger gap in the way British Columbia tells its own history.
South Asian migration to the province stretches back well over a century, encompassing stories of forestry and agricultural workers, entrepreneurs, soldiers, families, religious communities, political organizers and later generations who established businesses, cultural institutions and community organizations throughout BC.
Those histories also include periods of exclusion and discrimination alongside stories of resilience, activism and social change.
The proposed museum is intended to bring those threads together in a permanent institution where residents and visitors can encounter them within the larger story of British Columbia.
For now, however, much remains to be decided.
There is no announced construction schedule, final site or opening date. The next phase will concentrate on identifying opportunities and potential locations, undertaking further consultation and establishing milestones that could eventually turn years of discussion into a physical museum.
What is clearer is that the project has moved beyond simply asking what such a museum could be.
The next question is where — and how — it will take shape.
Fusion Fest 2024 in Surrey.Photo: Province Of BC
