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2006 Census: Educational Portrait of Canada, 2006 Census: Aboriginal population
The proportion of Aboriginal people with a university degree has grown
According to the 2006 Census, an estimated 555,400 adults aged 25 to 64 identified as an Aboriginal person. One in three (34%) Aboriginal persons had not completed high school and 21% had a high school diploma as their highest educational qualification.
At the same time, an estimated 44% of the Aboriginal population were postsecondary graduates in 2006. An estimated 14% had trade credentials, 19% had a college diploma and 8% had a university degree.
Because of changes in the questions, comparisons between 2006 and 2001 are only possible for university degrees. In 2006, 42,900 Aboriginal people (8%) had a university degree. This compares with 26,300, or 6%, in 2001.1 However, Aboriginal people were still much less likely to have a university degree than non-Aboriginal people in 2006 (8% compared with 23%).2 This gap is somewhat larger than it was in 2001 (6% compared with 20%).
Notes:
- Only the Indian reserves and settlements that participated in both censuses are included when comparing data between 2001 and 2006.
- The Aboriginal population grew faster than the non-Aboriginal population between 2001 and 2006 and the fastest gain occurred among people who identified as Métis. Several factors may account for this growth, including high birth rates and more individuals identifying as an Aboriginal person. Population growth factors, as well as changes in reporting patterns, should be taken into consideration when analyzing changes in educational attainment over time.
