How violence is reshaping Canada’s South Asian business community

A wave of extortion threats and targeted shootings is driving fear through Canada’s South Asian business community. Some entrepreneurs are now leaving the country, while others are turning to private security for protection.

Victims say escalating violence has forced them to seek safety abroad – particularly in the United States and Dubai – amid concerns that their businesses and homes are being deliberately targeted.

Brampton-based investor Avi Dhaliwal told Omni News that four of his 10 business partners have experienced gunfire at either their commercial properties or residences.

“I personally know between 35 and 40 victims of extortion whose homes or businesses have been targeted,” Dhaliwal said.

Dhaliwal, who operates a finance company, says he has helped dozens of South Asian entrepreneurs invest in property in the United States following repeated ransom demands allegedly linked to organized crime figures.

“Businessmen are flying out. South Asian millionaires are relocating. This is unprecedented – people are migrating from Canada, and Canada is losing entrepreneurs,” Dhaliwal said in an interview with OMNI news.

The impact has been especially severe in Brampton and Surrey, B.C.

Since 2023, Peel Regional Police have established a specialized Extortion Task Force and launched targeted operations, including Project Sahara and Project Outsource, to dismantle criminal networks.

Police data show 494 extortion investigations in 2024 – 153 of them targeting businesses. In 2025, 476 cases were reported, including 192 involving commercial establishments. Approximately 260 charges have been laid so far.

Meanwhile, private security companies also report a surge in demand.

Jugraj Singh Sandhu, who owns a security firm, says his company currently provides guards to between 60 and 70 clients – most of them victims of ransom threats.

“Many of our clients are from Brampton and require overnight security coverage,” Sandhu told OMNI News. “Police cannot be everywhere. They are outnumbered – officers are not omnipresent. Victims reach out to us for help.”

Business owners are also purchasing bulletproof vehicles and hiring personal bodyguards.

The concerns come amid broader warnings from federal law enforcement. In a statement released Oct. 14, 2024, the RCMP said it had uncovered “a significant amount of information about the breadth and depth of criminal activity orchestrated by agents of the Government of India, and consequential threats to the safety and security of Canadians and individuals living in Canada.”

The RCMP added that there have been “well over a dozen credible and imminent threats to life,” prompting law enforcement to issue “Duty to Warn” notifications to members of the South Asian community.

For many in the South Asian community, however, the central concern remains safety.