By J.M.Lee
Deep Singh Sandhu was born and raised in South Vancouver. He has six sisters and one brother. His father was from Punjab, India, and moved to Canada in 1970, while his mother was Canadian-born, in Victoria, BC, in 1950.
Flashing back, Deep’s great-grandfather on his mother’s side had moved to Canada in 1906. He was a pioneer who became a sawmill worker. In the early 1930s, his son (Deep’s grandfather) joined him in Victoria.
Deep’s mother told him and his siblings that in the olden days, their family had encountered some uphill battles to contend with; the most difficult was racism. Dedication, perseverance, and faith paved the way for a positive path for her family to overcome all the obstacles and hurdles.
Honest living and always doing good for the community, giving back, and being thankful for what they have, they never took everything for granted. These general principles raised their family and what they’ve passed down to their children.
“In my early twenties, I served as a reservist soldier in the Canadian Armed Forces,” recalls Deep. “I did several profound years there that taught me the importance of discipline. I still appreciate the opportunity to learn much to uplift my character.”
He then attended the University of Northern British Columbia and completed his Bachelor of Commerce degree.
“I’ve always wanted to be like my Dad, one of the three partners of the Jackpine Group of Companies,” Deep says. “It began in 1986, which became my foundation to take Commerce.”
Now, Deep is involved in Massive Canada as the Chief Investment Officer. His job is to find investments, deploy the capital they have, and make sure it is making a difference for the company.
“We have an ambitious plan for Massive Canada,” he notes. “We’re looking forward to completing a project whose scale would assist with the housing market and affordable housing, and hope to fill that gap.”
Deep elaborates on how Massive Canada will provide high-quality products, state-of-the-art technologies, and building systems to build housing units in a factory format, shipped to and assembled on-site.
“This saves a lot of time,” he explains. “It reduces waste and far fewer emissions of greenhouse gases. When buildings are pre-assembled and recycled, we take a positive step towards energy efficiency and the green economy. We will put people first, the planet follows, then profit for the company comes last. We take a different and diverse approach to the construction industry and hope to succeed. I also manage my family’s real estate holdings and oversee the assets management.”
Deep is busy running a diversified company as well. Initially, Massive Canada wanted to make modular pre-fab housing and deploy it as soon as possible. There’s a lack of housing around BC, which needs addressing quickly.
“The current building process is quite cumbersome,” he declares. “It would be time-consuming to secure permits, and with a lack of workforce to build houses, Massive Canada can hasten inefficiencies, and we can streamline the process by building a factory and having an assembly-line format. Since it is in a controlled environment, there will be no delays since there will be dedicated stations for dedicated tradespeople. Things will happen quicker and cheaper for developers. As of now, we have a lot of enthusiastic developers to embark on our expertise.”
Despite all Deep’s successes, he doesn’t forget his inspirations—the people close to him. His parents have always been positive and provided a great environment for him and his siblings, likewise to his many mentors when he was growing up—the Canadian Armed Forces, his teachers from schools, and coaches. It was a great experience learning from them, and he commends them, thanks them, and hopes that the future generation can take some of the avenues his family went through and take those as positive experiences.
“I have so much faith in Massive Canada for what it can do to the dire housing needs in Canada, so I joined them in May 2023. My background in forestry and construction, where I have been building houses with my father—finally morphed into something positive and beautiful.”
For the next generation, Deep advises, “Take it slowly, do everything calculated, and have driven, determination, and discipline. Nothing comes easy, nothing is fair, and nothing is free. Always be positive, have faith in what you do, and most importantly, believe in yourself, for if you don’t, who will?
