Census 2011 - Aboriginal population increasing

UPDATE: First Nations and higher learning

• Among Aboriginal Peoples aged 25 to 64, 48.4 per cent had some sort of post-secondary education, the majority a trades certificate or college diploma. Almost 10 per cent reported having a university degree, compared with 26.5 per cent of the non-Aboriginal population.
• Nearly 29 per cent of Aboriginal Peoples aged 25 to 64 reported no post-secondary education, compared with 12.1 per cent of the non-Aboriginal group.

Aboriginal people are claiming a larger share of the Canadian population. More than 1.4 million people told Statscan they had an Aboriginal identity. Instead of the traditional long form census of the past - a National Household Survey (NHS) was conducted from select homes to take a snapshot of Canada.

While the NHS data so far does not look deep into social conditions among Aboriginal peoples, we only get a glimpse...

• Aboriginal populations have increased by 20 per cent over the past five years compared to 5.2 per cent for the non-Aboriginal population.

• First Nations population grew by 22.0 per cent

• Métis population grew 16.3 per cent

• Inuit population grew by 18.1 per cent.

Not all of this growth was because of people having more babies. Rather, changes in legal definitions and survey methodology account for some of the difference.

• Aboriginal population now represents 4.3 per cent of Canada's population in 2011 - up from 3.8 per cent in the 2006 census.

• Ontario was the province where the largest number of Aboriginal people lived.

• 57.6 per cent of Aboriginal people live in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

• 46 per cent of Aboriginal population is under 24 years of age. It is 29 per cent for the rest of Canada.

• Seniors aged 65 and over represented about 6 per cent of the Aboriginal population, less than half of the proportion of 14.2% in the non-Aboriginal population.

• The median age for the Aboriginal population is 28 years.

• Children aged 14 and under also accounted for 28 per cent of the Aboriginal population, compared to 16.5 per cent of the non-Aboriginal population.

•  48.1 per cent of all children aged 14 and under in foster care in Canada in 2011 were Aboriginal children.Aboriginal children are far more likely to be living with a single parent, usually a mother.

The 2011 NHS collected social and economic information that communities need to plan services such as child care, schooling, family services, housing, roads and public transportation, and skills training for employment, Statistics Canada says.

First Nations people

About 201,100 First Nations people lived in Ontario in 2011, the largest number in Canada. Another 155,020 lived in British Columbia and 116,670 lived in Alberta. First Nations people accounted for less than 4 per cent of the population in each of these provinces.

First Nations people represented almost one-third of the population of the Northwest Territories, nearly one-fifth of Yukon's and about 10 per cent of the population of Manitoba as well as of Saskatchewan.

First Nations people were younger than the non-Aboriginal population in every province and territory. The youngest First Nations population lived in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, where their median age was 20 and 21 respectively. This was half of the median age (41 years) for the non-Aboriginal population in both provinces.

Métis

Most people who identified themselves as Métis lived in either the western provinces or in Ontario. In 2011, 96,865 Métis lived in Alberta, the largest population among the provinces and territories. They represented 21.4% of all Métis in Canada.

One-quarter of Métis lived in four western census metropolitan areas. Winnipeg had the highest population of Métis at 46,325. It was followed by Edmonton with 31,780, Vancouver (18,485) and Calgary (17,040).

The youngest Métis population lived in Saskatchewan and Alberta, where their median age was 28. The median age for non-Aboriginal people in Saskatchewan was 41 years and in Alberta it was 37. Métis living in New Brunswick were the oldest with a median age of 41. The median age for non-Aboriginal people in that province was 44 years.

Inuit

About three-quarters (73.1%) of Inuit in Canada, or 43,460 people, lived in Inuit Nunangat. Inuit Nunangat stretches from Labrador to the Northwest Territories and comprises four Inuit regions: Nunatsiavut, Nunavik, Nunavut and the Inuvialuit region.

Among these four regions, Nunavut had the largest Inuit population, with 27,070. Inuit living in Nunavut accounted for about half (45.5%) of the total Inuit population in Canada and represented 85.4% of Nunavut's population.

The youngest Inuit population lived in Nunavik and Nunavut. In both of these Inuit regions, the median age of Inuit was 21 years, and about 4 in 10 Inuit were children aged 14 and under.

By Province & Territory:

Ontario was home to 301,425 Aboriginal people
(201,100 First Nations people) in 2011

British Columbia was home to 232,290 Aboriginal people (155,020 First Nations people), representing 16.6 per cent of the total aboriginal population,

Alberta was home to 116,670 First Nations people

(15.8 per cent) and 96,865 Métis

Manitoba 14.0 per cent
Saskatchewan 11.3 per cent
Quebec 10.1 per cent

Per capita, Nunavut had the highest number of Aboriginals as a percentage of the population at 86.3 per cent

Métis

Most people who identified themselves as Métis lived in either the western provinces or in Ontario. In 2011, 96,865 Métis lived in Alberta, the largest population among the provinces and territories. They represented 21.4% of all Métis in Canada.

One-quarter of Métis lived in four western census metropolitan areas. Winnipeg had the highest population of Métis at 46,325. It was followed by Edmonton with 31,780, Vancouver (18,485) and Calgary (17,040).

The youngest Métis population lived in Saskatchewan and Alberta, where their median age was 28. The median age for non-Aboriginal people in Saskatchewan was 41 years and in Alberta it was 37. Métis living in New Brunswick were the oldest with a median age of 41. The median age for non-Aboriginal people in that province was 44 years.

By city:

The census metropolitan areas with the largest populations of First Nations people with registered Indian status who lived off reserve were:
Winnipeg (25,970) or 3.6 per cent of population
Edmonton (18,210) or 1.6 per cent of population
Vancouver (15,080) or 0.7 per cent of population

First Nations people with registered Indian status who lived off reserve also represented relatively large shares of the population in several census areas:
Prince Rupert, B.C. - 31.2
per cent of the total population
Thompson, Manitoba 23.4 per cent
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan 15.8 per cent
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories 13.1 per cent
Terrace, B.C.. - 12.9 per cent.