are avoided in more formal contexts due to their ambiguity and the possibility of being seen as derogatory. Census Canada lists both cultural backgrounds like Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, Malayali, and Goan in addition to cultures like East Indian, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, and Pakistani. History Late 19th century The first known record of Canadians from South Asia dates back to 1897, when Punjabi Sikh soldiers arrived in British Columbia while transiting from India to the United Kingdom during the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. Early 20th century With an estimated population of 100 by 1900, further South Asian settlement waves to Canada occurred in the few years after the turn of the 20th century; after hearing stories about the high wages being paid in British Columbia, some Punjabi British Indian soldiers stationed in Hong Kong and other British-controlled Chinese cities emigrated to Canada and settled in the western province. Attracted by these wages, more Sikh men began immigrating into British Columbia, working mainly in industries such as mining, logging and railroads. Many of these men, who arrived without their families, settled in Greater Vancouver, Vancouver Island, interior BC, northern BC, and the Fraser Valley in what is now Abbotsford, British Columbia. A notable moment in early South Asian Canadian history was in 1902 when Punjabi Sikh settlers first arrived in Golden, British Columbia to work at the Columbia River Lumber Company. These early settlers built the first Gurdwara (Sikh Temple) in Canada and North America in 1905, which would later be destroyed by fire in 1926. In 1907 the government in British Columbia enacted laws limiting the rights and privileges of Canadians from South Asian countries, which prevented them from voting and denied them access to holding political office, public sector jobs and other professions, which prompted many to migrate south from Vancouver across the border to the United States, where some became the victims of the 1907 Bellingham riots. In early 1908, the Continuous journey regulation was enacted in an effort to prevent South Asians from immigrating to Canada. The law required that people arriving from South Asia in Canada must "come from the country of their birth or citizenship by a continuous journey and or through tickets purchased before leaving their country of their birth or nationality." This prevented Indian soldiers stationed in Hong Kong and Japan from immigrating to Canada. The second Gurdwara to be built in Canada