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2006 Census: Aboriginal Peoples in Canada in 2006: Inuit, Métis and First Nations, 2006 Census: Métis
Métis population still young but has aged
In all parts of the country, the Métis population was younger than the non-Aboriginal population. In 2006, the median age of the Métis was 30 years, 10 years younger than non-Aboriginal people. (Median age is the point where exactly one-half of the population is older, and the other half is younger.)
The Métis of Saskatchewan were youngest, where their median age was 26 years. The median age was also relatively low in Alberta (27), Manitoba (28) and the Northwest Territories (29). In the Atlantic provinces, the median age of the Métis varied widely from 23 years in Prince Edward Island (the youngest) to 40 years in New Brunswick (the oldest). Outside the Atlantic provinces, the Métis in Quebec had the highest median age, 37 years, followed by Ontario (33).
In 2006, 25% of the Métis population was aged 14 and under, well above the proportion of 17% in the non-Aboriginal population. The proportion was highest in Saskatchewan, where children made up 29% of the Métis population. This is two percentage points higher than the 27% observed in both Manitoba and Alberta.
Although the Métis population is young, it has aged over the past decade. For example, in 2006, 7% of the population was aged 4 and under, down from 11% in 1996.
Seniors still represent a very small proportion of the Métis population. In 2006, 5% of Métis people were aged 65 and over, compared with 13% of the non-Aboriginal population. Seniors made up the largest share of the Métis population in Quebec, about 8%.
In 2006, 51% of all Métis seniors were women, a slightly lower proportion than the 55% senior women represented in the non-Aboriginal population.
Métis children twice as likely to live with a lone parent
In 2006, most Métis children aged 14 and under (65%) lived with two parents, while 31% lived with a lone parent. A very small proportion, 2%, lived with a grandparent (without a parent present in the home), and 2% lived with another relative. Less than 1% lived with a non-relative.
The likelihood of living with a lone parent was higher for Métis than for non-Aboriginal children but lower than for First Nations children. In 2006, 27% lived with a single-parent mother, similar to the 28% observed in 2001 and double the figure for non-Aboriginal children (14% in both 2001 and 2006).
Only 4% of Métis children lived with a single-parent father, similar to the proportion of 3% among the non-Aboriginal population.
Table 14 Living arrangements of Métis and non-Aboriginal children aged 14 years and under, Canada, 2006
Métis children aged 14 years and under were most likely to live with a lone parent in Saskatchewan, 36% of whom did so, and in Manitoba, where 35% did so. However, the proportions were lower among Métis in the Atlantic provinces (26%), in Ontario (27%) and in the territories (27%).
In several cities where the Métis made up a large share of the population, approximately four out of 10 children lived in lone-parent families. These included Winnipeg (40%) and Portage la Prairie (47%), Manitoba; Regina (41%), Saskatchewan; Edmonton (39%) and Cold Lake (43%), Alberta; and Dawson Creek (43%), British Columbia. In these urban centres, Métis children were twice as likely to live with a lone parent as their non-Aboriginal counterparts.
