Toronto's South Asian Community Lights Up Diwali While Confronting Difficult Truths
October 2026 has been a month of bright lights and hard headlines for Toronto's South Asian community. As the Greater Toronto Area prepared for one of the most anticipated Diwali seasons in recent memory — with fireworks, drone displays, and neighbourhood festivals planned across Brampton, Mississauga, Markham, and Toronto proper — the community simultaneously found itself at the centre of a legal controversy involving two well-known Gurdwaras and a former federal MP, as well as a stabbing in which the suspect allegedly made anti-Sikh slurs. The contrasts have prompted community leaders to reflect on both the community's remarkable visibility and the persistent challenges it faces.
Diwali Festivities Light Up the Toronto Sky
CityNews Toronto previewed the GTA's Diwali season, noting that the festival of lights has grown into one of the region's most elaborate annual events, drawing hundreds of thousands of participants across multiple South Asian neighbourhoods. This year's celebrations featured drone light shows over Brampton's Celebration Square and a free public concert in Mississauga's Fairview Park, alongside the traditional fireworks displays that have become fixtures at community centres run by Hindu, Jain, and Sikh organisations. The report noted that Diwali in the GTA now generates a measurable spike in local spending at sweet shops, clothing retailers, and gift stores, with some South Asian shopping corridors recording their highest single-week foot traffic of the year. [1]
Six Diwali Events to Mark in the GTA This Season
NOW Toronto published a guide to Diwali events across the Greater Toronto Area, flagging six celebrations that cater to different sections of the community. Among the highlights were a traditional rangoli and diya-lighting event at a Toronto community centre, a Bollywood-themed evening at a Brampton banquet hall, and a family-friendly langar hosted by a Sikh community organisation in Etobicoke. The guide noted that many events this year are free or donation-based, reflecting community efforts to make Diwali inclusive and accessible to newcomers who may be experiencing the festival away from their extended families for the first time. [2]
Raj Grewal Sued Over $15 Million in Loans Taken Against Two GTA Gurdwaras
The Pointer reports that Raj Grewal, a Mississauga-based lawyer and former Brampton MP, has been named in lawsuits alleging that approximately $15 million in loans were taken out using two well-known GTA Gurdwaras as collateral — the Sikh Spiritual Centre Toronto in Etobicoke and Brampton's Nanaksar Gurdwara — while Grewal was allegedly drowning in personal and professional debt. Also named in the litigation are Amarjit Singh Deol, listed as president of both organisations, and Gurmail Singh Nirman, the treasurer and director of the Sikh Spiritual Centre Toronto. Court documents show about two dozen lawsuits facing Grewal and his law firm RSG Law, alleging the loans were arranged without the knowledge of regular Gurdwara congregants. [3]
Toronto Tamil Community Centre Gets Green Light for Construction
Ontario Construction News reports that the Toronto Tamil Community Centre, a long-sought project for the city's large Tamil diaspora, has cleared a critical planning approval hurdle and is now moving toward the construction phase. The centre is intended to serve as a hub for Tamil cultural programming, language classes, senior services, and community events across the Greater Toronto Area. Tamil organisations in Toronto have argued for years that the community — one of the largest Tamil diaspora concentrations outside South Asia — lacks a dedicated, purpose-built facility comparable to those maintained by other South Asian communities. The planning approval was welcomed by Tamil community leaders as a generational milestone. [4]
Suspect Made Anti-Sikh Slurs Before Stabbing Near Toronto Waterfront
CTV News reports that a suspect made anti-Sikh utterances and racial slurs before allegedly stabbing a victim near Toronto's waterfront, in what police described as an apparent hate-motivated attack. Toronto Police Service confirmed they are treating the incident as a hate crime and have appealed for witnesses. The attack has renewed conversations about anti-Sikh sentiment in Canada and the experiences of turban-wearing Sikhs in public spaces. Sikh community organisations in Toronto issued a statement calling on the city to take hate-motivated incidents more seriously and urging the province to increase resources for hate-crime investigation units. [7]
Sources: [1] CityNews Toronto · [2] NOW Toronto · [3] The Pointer · [4] Ontario Construction News · [7] CTV News