Baltej Singh Dhillon (born November 13, 1966) is a Canadian politician and former police officer who was the first

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

officer to be allowed to wear a

turban A turban (from Persian language, Persian دولبند‌, ''dolband''; via Middle French ''turbant'') is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Commun ...

. He was appointed to the Canadian Senate by Liberal prime minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...

on February 7, 2025.

Early life

He was born on November 13, 1966 in Malaysia and immigrated to Canada with his family in 1983. After graduating from high school, he went on to Kwantlen College to study

criminology Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...

with hopes of becoming a criminal lawyer. Having been advised to do some volunteer work to improve his chances of getting into law school, he helped the

(RCMP) launch the Block Watch program in his community and was subsequently hired by the force to work on the program.

Recruitment and controversy

Based on his previous experiences, Dhillon decided that he wanted to join the RCMP. He went to a recruiting office and met all the initial requirements. The recruiting officer raised the delicate issue of the turban. RCMP policy did not allow it, however the issue went to then-Commissioner of the RCMP, Norman Inkster. Inkster sided with Dhillon, and pressure was put on the federal government to change the policy. Dhillon's request (and subsequent support from Inkster) created much controversy. Many opposed to the change believed that the

stetson Stetson is an American brand of hat manufactured by the John B. Stetson Company. "Stetson" is also used as a generic trademark to refer to any campaign hat, particularly in Scouting. John B. Stetson gained inspiration for his most famous ...

was part of the uniform and allowing a turban into such an all-Canadian institution would change the face of a national icon. Over 150,000 people signed petitions to retain the traditional RCMP dress code, and sympathetic legislators presented the results to Parliament. Conversely,

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

leaders pointed out that turbaned Sikhs in the British Indian Army served in two World Wars and now work in many Canadian police forces. On March 16, 1990, the federal

Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

, Pierre Cadieux, announced in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

that the policy was theretofore amended to permit Sikhs to wear the turban while on active duty in the RCMP. Dhillon subsequently entered the

RCMP Academy, Depot Division RCMP Academy, Depot Division (commonly known as "Depot", not ) is the police training academy for Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) cadets. Providing training since its establishment in 1885, the facility is located in the west part of Reg ...

, in

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina ( ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 Canadian census, ...

, as the first turbaned cadet. Dhillon's career saw him, among other things, work as an investigator with the 1985 Air India bombing task force.

Staff sergeant Staff sergeant is a Military rank, rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administr ...

Dhillon served as head of the British Columbia RCMP Provincial Intelligence Centre, which is composed of Regular RCMP Members, Canadian Security Intelligence Service members, municipal police service members and civilian staff. He participated in Major Crimes and Polygraph, as they were his previous area of expertise.

Political career

In 2024, Dhillon was nominated as a

BC NDP The New Democratic Party of British Columbia (BC NDP) is a social democratic political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum and is one of the two major parties in British Columbia; since ...

candidate for the 2024 British Columbia general election, running in the Surrey-Serpentine River riding. He placed second behind former Mayor of Surrey Linda Hepner of the

Conservative Party of British Columbia The Conservative Party of British Columbia, commonly known as the BC Conservatives and colloquially known as the Tories, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. It is the main rival to the governing British Columbia New Demo ...

. On February 7, 2025, he was nominated and appointed to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada () is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, they compose the Bicameralism, bicameral le ...

by Justin Trudeau.

Personal life

, Dhillon resides in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

with his wife, mother, and two daughters.

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dhillon, Baltej Singh 1966 births Living people 21st-century members of the Senate of Canada British Columbia New Democratic Party candidates in British Columbia provincial elections Canadian people of Indian descent Canadian senators from British Columbia Canadian Sikhs Independent Canadian senators Kwantlen Polytechnic University alumni Malaysian emigrants to Canada Malaysian people of Indian descent Malaysian people of Punjabi descent Malaysian Sikhs People from Surrey, British Columbia Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers