The Indian-origin truck driver responsible for a bus crash that killed 16 members of a Canadian junior ice hockey team in 2018 is fighting his upcoming deportation to India. Jaskirat Singh Sidhu was behind the wheel of a semi-trailer truck and failed to stop at a highway intersection on April 6, 2018, leading to one of Canada’s deadliest road accidents.
The crash killed 16 people, including members of the Humboldt Broncos hockey team and support personnel. Thirteen others were injured in the crash, which occurred en route to a playoff game. (Also read: 2018 fatal Canada crash: Convicted Punjab-origin driver faces deportation)
Jaskirat Singh Sidhu was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2019, after pleading guilty. In 2023, he was granted full parole. The Canadian immigration tribunal revoked his permanent residency in 2024 and ordered his deportation. Authorities have since asked for his travel documents to begin the removal process, but Sidhu intends to fight his deportation.
“I want to fight for my family”
In an interview with CBC earlier this month, the Indo-Canadian driver said he would have to leave his wife and two children behind in Canada if he were to be deported.
{{/usCountry}}In an interview with CBC earlier this month, the Indo-Canadian driver said he would have to leave his wife and two children behind in Canada if he were to be deported.
{{/usCountry}}"I want to fight for my family. All the legal avenues, whatever I have, I will pursue that," Jaskirat Singh Sidhu told CBC News.
Sidhu was new to truck driving and had been on the job less than a month before the tragedy in 2018, CTV News reported.
He told CBC that he is remorseful about his actions and still has nightmares about the day. He added that he is getting regular therapy for PTSD and major depressive disorder.
Speaking about the family members of the players killed in the crash, Sidhu said, “I wish I can do something that can take their pain away. I wish that day never happened. I made a mistake. … I'm paying for that every day.”
Sidhu had married Tanvir Mann just months before the accident. His wife and two children are Canadian citizens and will not be deported along with him.
Sidhu’s lawyer, Michael Greene, has filed an application requesting that his client be allowed to stay in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. The petition argues that deporting Jaskirat Singh Sidhu to India would cause significant hardship for his young family and could worsen his ongoing mental health struggles.
(Also read: Canada urges action as US halts visas for foreign truck drivers)