Census reveals Aboriginals fastest growing population

The 2006 Census final report reveals more than one million people self-identified as Aboriginal and are the youngest growing population in Canada. A total of 1,172,790 people reported Aboriginal identity either as First Nation, Métis or Inuit. The average age for Aboriginal people was 27, with nearly half of the population age 24 and under. The report shows Aboriginal people account for 3.8 per cent of the total population of Canada, an increase from 3.3 per cent in 2001. The Aboriginal population has grown faster than the non-Aboriginal population with a 45 per cent increase between 1996 and 2006. That is six times faster than the 8 per cent growth rate the non-Aboriginal population experienced over the same time period. At least 22 bands out of the more than 600 in the country were incompletely enumerated and several bands in Ontario are disputing the accuracy of the report. The greater part of First Nations people are Status Indians, meaning they are registered under the Indian Act with those numbers already accounted for. The Statistics Canada report also estimates 40 per cent of Aboriginal people enumerated lived on reserve, while 60 per cent lived off reserve. The off reserve population was also slightly up since 1996. Winnipeg had the highest number of Aboriginal people in Canada that make up 10 per cent of the city's total population. In Alberta, Edmonton has the second highest number with 52,100, which is 5 per cent of the city's total population. Alberta has the highest number of Métis with 22 per cent of the total population in Canada. Overall the Métis population is the fastest growing with numbers doubling since the 1996 census. The report states reasons for the increase are high birth rates and more Aboriginal people are willing to self-identify. At least 22 reserves were not reflected in the 2006 census including the Mohawks of Akwesasne and Kahnawake First Nations, Little Buffalo First Nation in Alberta and Esquimalt in B.C. and the Six Nations of the Grand River, the largest band in Canada with 22,649 members according to the Department of Indian Affairs registry.