Gurdev Singh Gill (28 November 1931 – 17 December 2023) was an Indian-born Canadian physician, community leader, and activist. He was recognized as Canada's first medical doctor of Indian origin. As a community advocate, he furthered many issues relevant to the Indo-Canadian community. Gill received the

Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier Bill Vander Zalm, the order is administe ...

in 1990, and the

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal () or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. There are four versions of the medal: one iss ...

in 2012, in recognition of his services.

Early life

Gurdev Singh Gill was born on 28 November 1931 in Kharoudi, a village in the state of Punjab Province,

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, to Gurbachan and Dilbag Singh Gill. He had three siblings. Gill came to North America in 1949, first landing in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

where his grandfather was, and later traveling to Seattle in a train. He then went to

Duncan Duncan may refer to: People * Duncan (given name), various people * Duncan (surname), various people * Clan Duncan * Justice Duncan (disambiguation) Places * Duncan Creek (disambiguation) * Duncan River (disambiguation) * Duncan Lake (di ...

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

where his father lived, by ferry. He first worked in a paper mill. After completing grade 12, he enrolled in the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

's medical school. There, he co-founded the East India Student Association and also served as the group's first secretary. In 1957, he became the first

Indo-Canadian Indian Canadians are Canadians who have ancestry from India. The term ''East Indian'' is sometimes used to avoid confusion with Indigenous groups. Categorically, Indian Canadians comprise a subgroup of South Asian Canadians which is a furthe ...

to graduate from the school.

Career

Gill started his own practice in

New Westminster, British Columbia New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capita ...

, after graduating from UBC's medical school. In doing so, became the first

South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

and Indian to practice medicine in Canada. In a career spanning over forty years, he also served as a staff member at many hospitals in the region including St. Mary's,

Royal Columbian Hospital Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH) is among the oldest hospitals in British Columbia and one of the busiest in the Fraser Health, Fraser Health Authority. It is located in New Westminster overlooking the Fraser River and is the only hospital in the L ...

, and the Queen's Park Care Center. Gill was also the founder of the East Indian Welfare Society, where he advocated on issues of the Indo-Canadian community, including support for various family reunification efforts and the recognition of foreign educational credentials. He also served as the president of the Khalsa Diwan Society in Vancouver and led the fundraising efforts for relocating the society's

Gurdwara A gurdwara or gurudwara () is a place of assembly and place of worship, worship in Sikhism, but its normal meaning is "place of guru" or "home of guru". Sikhism, Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths and rel ...

from

Kitsilano Kitsilano ( ) is a neighbourhood in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Named after Squamish chief August Jack Khatsahlano, Kitsilano is located along the southern shore of English Bay, Vancouver, English Bay between Fairview, Vancou ...

to its new location in Ross Street in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. He was a founding member of the Indo-Canadian Friendship Society which led village improvement projects in Punjab,

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, including set up of waste water treatment plants, enabling access to safe drinking water, and providing local schools with computers. Gill's received the

in 1990 in its inaugural year, making him the first Indo-Canadian to receive this honour. Some of the other recipients of that inaugural year included musician

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born November 5, 1959) is a British and Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and photographer. He is estimated to have sold between 75 million and more than 100 million album, records and Single (music), si ...

and businessman

Jim Pattison James Allen Pattison (born October 1, 1928) is a Canadian business magnate and investor. He is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he holds the position of chief executive officer, chairman and sole owner of the Jim Pattison Group, Can ...

. He received the

in 2012. In addition, he also received UBC's Global Citizenship Alumni Achievement Award in 2013, and the UBC MAA Wallace Wilson Leadership Award in 2018.

Personal life and death

Gill married Narinder Kaur in 1958. The couple had two children. He later married Jasinder Kaur after his first wife's death. He had four grandchildren and one great-grandson. Gill died in Chandigarh, India, on 17 December 2023, at the age of 92.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh Gill, Gurdev 1931 births 2023 deaths 20th-century Canadian physicians University of British Columbia alumni Indian emigrants to Canada Members of the Order of British Columbia