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2006 Census: Aboriginal Peoples in Canada in 2006: Inuit, Métis and First Nations, 2006 Census: Inuit

Despite a reduction in crowding, three out of ten Inuit live in crowded homes

Inuit live in some of the most crowded living conditions in Canada. In 2006, about 15,600, or 31% of all Inuit lived in crowded homes. This was somewhat lower than in 1996 when the proportion was 36%. In contrast, 3% of the non-Aboriginal population in Canada lived in crowded conditions in 2006. (Crowding is defined as more than one person per room.)

However, a large percentage of Inuit lived in homes that were more crowded than this. In 2006, 12% of Inuit lived in homes with an average of 1.5 persons or more per room, compared with 1% of the non-Aboriginal population.

Crowding was more common in Inuit Nunaat, where just over 15,000 Inuit, or 38% of the total, lived in crowded conditions in 2006. Again, this was a decline from 43% in 1996. About 5% of non-Aboriginal people lived in crowded conditions in Inuit Nunaat in 2006, virtually unchanged from a decade earlier.

In 2006, 7,000 Inuit children in Canada aged 14 and under, 40% of the total, lived in crowded homes, more than six times the proportion of 6% among non-Aboriginal children.

Health experts maintain that inadequate housing can be associated with a host of health problems. For example, crowded living conditions can lead to the transmission of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis1 and hepatitis A, and can also increase risk for injuries, mental health problems, family tensions and violence.2

Hospitalization rates for Inuit children with severe lower respiratory tract infections are the highest in the world. Research has shown that crowding, along with poor ventilation in Inuit homes, contributes to these rates.3

Many Inuit in all regions live in crowded conditions

In all four regions of Inuit Nunaat, crowding rates for Inuit were many times higher than the rate for the non-Aboriginal population in this region, which was about 5%. In Nunavik, more than 4,700 Inuit, 49% of the total, lived in crowded dwellings, as did 39% of those in Nunavut, 19% in the Inuvialuit region and 13% in Nunatsiavut.

According to census data, crowding has declined during the past decade. The sole exception was Nunavik, where the proportion of Inuit living in crowded dwellings increased slightly, from 47% in 1996 to 49% in 2006.

The biggest decline occurred in the Nunatsiavut region, where the percentage of Inuit living in crowded dwellings fell from 37% in 1996 to 13% in 2006. It is likely that part of this decline was due to the construction of new housing units built from funding from the government of Newfoundland and Labrador.4 In Nunavut, the percentage fell from 43% to 39%, while in the Inuvialuit region, it dropped from 31% to 19%.

Table 9 Percentage of the Inuit and non-Aboriginal populations living in crowded dwellings, Canada and regions, 1996 and 2006

Growing percentage of Inuit live in homes in need of major repairs

Overcrowding, combined with extreme weather conditions, can result in much wear and tear on homes in Inuit Nunaat. In 2006, about 14,000 Inuit in Canada, 28% of the total, reported living in homes requiring major repairs, compared with 7% of the non-Aboriginal population in Canada. (The need for major repairs was in the judgement of respondents.)

In Inuit Nunaat, 14% of non-Aboriginal people lived in homes in need of major repairs. This contrasts with 31% of Inuit, a proportion that increased from 19% in 1996.

Inuit in Nunavik were the most likely to live in dwellings in need of major repairs. In 2006, 4,400 Inuit lived in homes requiring major repairs, 46% of the total, compared with 34% in Nunatsiavut, 28% in the Inuvialuit region, and 26% in Nunavut.

These proportions were higher than they were in 1996 in three of the four Inuit regions. In 1996, 8% of Inuit in Nunavik lived in homes in need of major repairs, as did 23% in the Inuvialuit region and 21% in Nunavut. However, in Nunatsiavut, the proportion fell from 41% in 1996.

Table 10 Percentage of Inuit and non-Aboriginal populations living in dwellings in need of major repairs, Canada and regions, 1996 and 2006

Notes:

  1. In 2003, the tuberculosis rate for Inuit was more than 10 times higher than that for the total Canadian population. Public Health Agency of Canada. 2003. Tuberculosis in Canada. Public Health Agency of Canada Catalogue no. HP37-5/2003.
  2. Statistics Canada. 2003. Aboriginal Peoples Survey 2001 – Initial Findings: Well-being of the Non-reserve Aboriginal Population. Statistics Canada, Catalogue no. 89‑589‑XIE; and Health Canada. 1999. A Second Diagnostic on the Health of First Nations and Inuit People in Canada. Health Canada.
  3. Kovesi, T., N. Gilbert, C. Stocco, D. Fugler, R. Dales, M. Guay and J.D. Miller. July 17, 2007. Canadian Medical Association Journal. 'Indoor air quality and the risk of lower respiratory tract infections in young Canadian Inuit children.' 177 (2).
  4. In 2000, $7.7 million was allocated for the construction of new housing units and major repairs to existing housing stock through the Northern Coastal Labrador Strategic Initiative.

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