NHS Focus on Geography Series – Portage la Prairie

Demographic characteristics of Aboriginal people

In 2011, 22.9% (2,840) of the population of Portage la Prairie had an Aboriginal identity.^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 1} Of those, 45.6% (1,295) reported a First Nations identity^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 2} only, 52.6% (1,495) reported a Métis identity only, and 0.0% (0) reported an Inuit identity only. An additional 35, or 1.2%, reported other Aboriginal identities and 15, or 0.5%, reported more than one Aboriginal identity.

Table 1 – Population by Aboriginal identity, Portage la Prairie

In general, the Aboriginal population in Canada is younger than the non-Aboriginal population.

In Portage la Prairie, Aboriginal children aged 14 and under represented 34.2% of the total Aboriginal population and 39.0% of all children in Portage la Prairie. Non-Aboriginal children aged 14 and under accounted for 15.9% of the non-Aboriginal population.

The age distribution of First Nations people, Métis and Inuit is shown in table 2.

Table 2 – Age distribution by Aboriginal identity, Portage la Prairie

Living arrangements of Aboriginal children

In Portage la Prairie, 42.8% of Aboriginal children aged 14 and under lived in a family^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 3} with both their parents (biological or adoptive) and 47.4% lived in a lone-parent family.^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 4} Other Aboriginal children in that age group were stepchildren,^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 5} grandchildren living in a skip-generation family,^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 6} foster children^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 7} or children living with other relatives.

Living arrangements of First Nations, Métis and Inuit children aged 14 and under are illustrated in table 3.

Table 3 – Percentage distribution of the population aged 14 and under by living arrangement for selected Aboriginal identity categories, Portage la Prairie

Language and Aboriginal peoples

In Portage la Prairie, 275 Aboriginal people, or 9.7% of the population who had an Aboriginal identity, responded that they were able to conduct a conversation in an Aboriginal language. In 2011, the Aboriginal language most frequently reported by Aboriginal people was: Ojibway (255).

In 2011, 5.8% of the Aboriginal identity population reported an Aboriginal language as mother tongue, defined as the first language learned at home in childhood and still understood.

As well, 5.8% of Aboriginal people reported speaking an Aboriginal language at home: 1.2% spoke it most often while another 4.6% spoke it on a regular basis.

Linguistic characteristics of First Nations people, Métis and Inuit are shown in tables 4 to 6.

Table 4 – Number and proportion of Aboriginal identity population, First Nations people, Métis and Inuit for selected Aboriginal language indicators, Portage la Prairie

In Portage la Prairie, 96.7% of the Aboriginal identity population reported that they were able to conduct a conversation only in English or only in French. Additionally, 3.3% of Aboriginal people reported that they were able to conduct a conversation in both of Canada's official languages. The other 0.0%, or 0, reported that they were not able to conduct a conversation in either of these two languages.

Table 5 – Percentage distribution of the population by knowledge of official languages for selected Aboriginal identity categories, Portage la Prairie

In Portage la Prairie, among the 275 Aboriginal people who reported being able to conduct a conversation in an Aboriginal language, 52.7% reported that same language as their mother tongue. The other 47.3% reported a different language, such as English or French, as mother tongue, which suggests these individuals have acquired an Aboriginal language as a second language.

On the other hand, among the 165 Aboriginal people who reported an Aboriginal language as mother tongue, 12.1% could no longer conduct a conversation in this language, despite the fact that they still understand it.

Table 6 – Population who reported an ability to conduct a conversation in an Aboriginal language that is not their mother tongue and population who reported an Aboriginal mother tongue but who could not conduct a conversation in that language, for selected Aboriginal identity categories, Portage la Prairie

Immigrant population

According to the 2011 National Household Survey (NHS), 630 (5.1%) of the population of Portage la Prairie were foreign-born (immigrants), 11,705 (94.4%) were Canadian-born (non-immigrants) and 65 (0.5%) were non-permanent residents.^{Ethnocultural Footnote 1} In comparison, the proportion of the population of Manitoba who were immigrants was 15.7%, 83.6% were non-immigrants, and 0.7% were non-permanent residents.

Figure 1 Percentage of Canadian born (non-immigrants), foreign born (immigrants) and non permanent residents in Portage la Prairie (City)

Figure 1 Percentage of Canadian born (non-immigrants), foreign born (immigrants) and non permanent residents in Portage la Prairie (City)

Of the immigrants living in Portage la Prairie in 2011, 215 came to Canada between 2006 and 2011. These recent immigrants made up 34.1% of the immigrants in Portage la Prairie.

The most common countries of birth of immigrants living in Portage la Prairie were: Philippines (accounting for 17.5% of the immigrant population in Portage la Prairie) and United Kingdom (16.7%). In comparison, the top countries of birth of immigrants living in Manitoba were: Philippines (accounting for 24.5% of the immigrant population in Manitoba), and United Kingdom (7.2%).

In 2011, among Portage la Prairie's immigrant population, 61.1% spoke English and/or French most often at home. Meanwhile, the three most frequently reported non-official languages spoken most often at home by immigrants in Portage la Prairie were Bisayan languages, Tagalog (Pilipino,Filipino) and Russian. This compared to the top three non-official languages for immigrants in Manitoba, which were Tagalog (Pilipino,Filipino), German and Panjabi (Punjabi).^{Ethnocultural Footnote 2}

Table 1 – Immigrants by non-official languages spoken most often at home, Portage la Prairie (City), Manitoba

Visible minority population and ethnic origins

The 2011 NHS estimated that 350 individuals in Portage la Prairie belonged to a visible minority group, accounting for 2.8% of its total population.^{Ethnocultural Footnote 1} In comparison, visible minorities comprised 13.1% of Manitoba's population.

The largest visible minority groups living in Portage la Prairie were Filipino and South Asian. In Manitoba, the largest visible minority groups were Filipino and South Asian.

The three most frequently reported ethnic origins in Portage la Prairie, for people reporting either one or multiple ethnic origins, were English, Canadian and Scottish. This compared to the top three in Manitoba, which were English, German and Canadian.

Table 2 – Most frequently reported ethnic origins, Portage la Prairie (City), Manitoba

Religion

According to the 2011 NHS, 69.1% of the population in Portage la Prairie reported a religious affiliation, while 30.9% said they had no religious affiliation.^{Ethnocultural Footnote 1} For Manitoba as a whole, 73.5% of the population reported a religious affiliation, while 26.5% had no religion.

The most frequently reported religious affiliation in Portage la Prairie was Roman Catholic, reported by 2,270 (18.3%) of the population. Other frequently reported religions included: United Church (15.7%) and Anglican (7.7%). In comparison, the top three most frequently reported religions in Manitoba were: Roman Catholic (reported by 25.1% of the population of Manitoba), United Church (11.1%) and Christian, n.i.e. (7.8%).

Table 3 – Most frequently reported religions, Portage la Prairie (City), Manitoba

Educational attainment ^{Education Footnote 1}

In 2011, 47.4% of the 8,215 adults aged 25 years and over in Portage la Prairie had completed some form of postsecondary education, compared with 59.6% at the national level.

Of the population aged 25 years and over in Portage la Prairie, 17.7% had a university certificate or degree. An additional 17.5% had a college diploma and 12.1% had a trades certificate.

The share of the adult population that had completed a high school diploma as their highest level of educational attainment was 27.9%, and 24.7% had completed neither high school nor any postsecondary certificates, diplomas or degrees.

Table 1 – Population aged 25 and over by highest level of educational attainment^{Education Footnote 1}, Portage la Prairie (City), Manitoba, Canada

Overall, successive generations of Canadians have been completing high school and attaining postsecondary qualifications in increasing proportions. In 2011, 41.7% of Canadians aged 65 years and over had a postsecondary credential; this compares with 69.5% among adults between the ages of 25 and 44. As well, 35.7% of those aged 65 years and over had not completed any certificate, diploma or degree compared with 9.5% of individuals aged 25 to 44.

In Portage la Prairie, 37.9% of those aged 65 years and over had a postsecondary credential, compared to 50.5% of adults between 25 and 44 years of age; 38.4% of individuals aged 65 years and over had no certificate, diploma or degree, compared to 15.2% of 25 to 44 year-olds.

Portage la Prairie (City) – Proportion of the population aged 25 years and over by level of educational attainment and age groups

Portage la Prairie (City) – Proportion of the population aged 25 years and over by level of educational attainment and age groups

Major field of study

Table 2 – Most common fields of study^{Education Footnote 9} for the population aged 25 years and over with postsecondary qualifications, Portage la Prairie (City), Manitoba, Canada

Location of study^{Education Footnote 11}

In 2011, there were 3,895 residents of Portage la Prairie aged 25 years and over with postsecondary credentials. Of these graduates, 80.4% had studied in Manitoba, 12.7% had studied in another province or territory and 6.8% had studied outside Canada. Nationally, 72.5% of graduates had studied in the same province/territory in which they lived in 2011, 10.4% had studied in another province or territory and 17.1% had studied outside Canada.

In all provinces, individuals with trades or college certificates were more likely than those with university credentials to have earned their highest certificate, diploma or degree in the province in which they lived in 2011.

Table 3 – Population aged 25 years and over with postsecondary qualifications by location of study and by level of educational attainment, Portage la Prairie (City)

Labour

In Portage la Prairie, 6,270 people were employed and 305 were unemployed for a total labour force of 6,580 in May 2011. The employment rate was at 63.3% and the unemployment rate was at 4.6%.

Table 1 Total population aged 15 years and over by labour force status, Portage la Prairie (City), Manitoba

Within Portage la Prairie, 16.7% of the employed labour force was aged 15 to 24 and 13.8% was aged 55 to 64. This compares to 15.1% and 15.4% respectively for Manitoba.

Table 2 Employed labour force by age groups, Portage la Prairie (City), Manitoba

Within Portage la Prairie, the top occupations were: Service support and other service occupations, n.e.c.; Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations; Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations. For Manitoba as a whole the top occupations were: Service support and other service occupations, n.e.c.; Industrial, electrical and construction trades; Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations.

Table 3 Top occupations for the employed labour force, Portage la Prairie (City), Manitoba

Within Portage la Prairie, the top industries were: Health care and social assistance; Retail trade; Educational services. For Manitoba as a whole the top industries were: Health care and social assistance; Retail trade; Manufacturing.

Table 4 Top industries for the employed labour force, Portage la Prairie (City), Manitoba

The number of self-employed in Portage la Prairie amounted to 420 or 6.7% of all total employed workers.

Table 5 Employed labour force by class of workers, Portage la Prairie (City), Manitoba

In 2011, 0.2% of commuters within Portage la Prairie used public transit to get to work. This compares to Manitoba at 9.2%. 81.0% of the population used a car, truck or van as a driver, while 6.5% used a car, truck or van as a passenger. The average commuting time to work in Portage la Prairie was 13.6 minutes, this compares to Manitoba at 21.4 minutes.

Within Portage la Prairie, 85.6% of the employed labour force aged 15 years and over worked at their usual place, 3.7% worked at home and 10.5% had no fixed workplace address.

Table 6 Employed labour force by mode of transportation, Portage la Prairie (City), Manitoba

Table 7 Average commuting duration for the employed labour force, Portage la Prairie (City), Manitoba

Table 8 Employed Labour force by time leaving for work, Portage la Prairie (City), Manitoba

Table 9 Employed labour force by place of work status, Portage la Prairie (City), Manitoba

In Portage la Prairie, 99.4% (7,120) of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported English only as the language used most often at work, 0.0% (0) reported French only and 0.0% (0) said they used both official languages (English and French) equally. In addition, 0.0% of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported using an official language and a non-official language equally most often at work and 0.0% a non-official language only.

Furthermore, 0.0% (0) of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported working in English on a regular basis, 0.8% (60) in French on a regular basis and 0.0% (0) in the country's two official languages on a regular basis. In addition, 0.0% (0) of of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported using an official language and a non-official language on a regular basis at work and 0.9% (65) a non-official language only.

In Manitoba, 97.3% (663,085) of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported English only as the language used most often at work, 0.9% (5,930) reported French only and 0.3 (2,155) said they used both official languages (English and French) equally. Furthermore, 0.4% of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported using an official language and a non-official language equally most often at work.

As for the language used at work on a regular basis in Manitoba, the proportions are as follows: 1.3% (8,655) reported using English; 1.9% (12,855) use French; 0.0% (0) use both official languages; 0.1% (585) reported using an official language and a non-official language; and 3.5% (23,575) a non-official language only.

Table 10 Languages used at work, Portage la Prairie (City), Manitoba

In Portage la Prairie, the non-official language most used, most often or regularly, with or without an official language, is Russian, which account respectively for 0.2% (30) of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011.

In Manitoba, the non-official languages most used, most often or regularly, with or without an official language, are German, Tagalog (Pilipino,Filipino) and Cree languages, which account respectively for 0.6% (7,690), 0.4% (5,655) and 0.4% (5,595) of the population aged 15 years and older who worked in 2010 or 2011.

Table 11 Non-official languages used at work, Portage la Prairie (City), Manitoba

Income composition

The total income for the population in private households can be broken down into two basic components: market income^{Income Footnote 1} and government transfers.^{Income Footnote 2} In Portage la Prairie, 85.9% of total income was from market income in 2010 and 14.1% was from government transfers. (Aggregate total income for Portage la Prairie was 345.6 million dollars in 2010.)

Figure 1 Income composition for the population in private households in 2010

Income composition for the population in private households in 2010

Market income's main component was employment income. In Portage la Prairie, it accounted for $86.50 of every $100 of market income, slightly above the figure for Manitoba of $86.10. For the two components of employment income, wages and salaries represented $83.70 and net income from self-employment, $2.70.

The other components of market income were smaller than employment income: in Portage la Prairie, investment income represented $3.70 per $100 of market income, retirement income, $8.40 and $1.40 came from other private sources of money.

The government transfers received in Portage la Prairie were Canada Pension Plan or Quebec Pension Plan with $31.90 of every $100 of total government transfers received, Old Age Security (OAS) pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement ($29.80), Child benefits ($14.60), Other income from government sources ($13.20), and Employment Insurance benefits ($10.40).

Table 1 – Income composition for the population in private households in 2010, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada

High total income

Among the Canadian population in private households aged 15 years and over, ten percent had total incomes of more than $80,400 in 2010. To be in the top five percent, Canadians needed to have a total income of slightly above $102,300 and to be in the top one percent required just over $191,100, nearly seven times the national median income of $27,800.^{Income Footnote 3}

In Portage la Prairie, 2.4% percent of the population aged 15 years and over had total income that put them in the top five percent. This compared with 5.0% in Canada.

Table 2 – Population aged 15 years and over by total income, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada

A national map showing the spatial distribution of persons with total income in the top five percent of persons with the highest total income is also available. Canada. Percentage of population in top five percent of total income in 2010 by 2011 census division (CD)

Employment income

Of those persons with employment income in Portage la Prairie, 55.2% worked full year, full time^{Income Footnote 4} in 2010 compared to 53.2% in Manitoba. The median employment income was $42,162 for these workers ($43,621 for those in Manitoba).

Family income

The median after-tax income of economic families in Portage la Prairie in 2010 was $60,219, the median for couple families was $63,778 and for lone-parent families, $39,157. For persons not in economic families (persons living alone or with non relatives only), the median after-tax income was $27,058.

These compare to the medians in Manitoba of $62,819 for after-tax family income of all economic families, $67,934 for couple families, $38,788 for lone-parent families and $25,288 for persons living alone or without relatives.

Table 3 – Median after-tax income in 2010 for economic families and persons not in economic families, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada

Figure 2 Median after-tax income in 2010 for Portage la Prairie, Manitoba and Canada

Median after-tax income in 2010 for Portage la Prairie, Manitoba and Canada

Families came in different sizes and larger families may have benefited from pooling of resources and economies of scale. In Portage la Prairie, based on their after-tax income adjusted for family size, 40.1% of the population was in the top half of the income distribution, below the rate of 43.8% in Manitoba.

In Portage la Prairie, the percentage of the population in the lowest income decile group^{Income Footnote 5} at 10.6% was lower than in Manitoba (12.4%). The percentage of the population in the highest decile group was 4.4%, lower than in Manitoba (6.2%).

Table 4 – Population in private households by adjusted after-tax family income in 2010, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada

Low income^{Income Footnote 6}

In the NHS, a relative measure is used to classify persons by income status: the low-income measure based on after-tax income (LIM-AT). For this measure, the income threshold is half the Canadian median of after-tax household income. The income has been adjusted to account for household size. Persons in households with a household income below this threshold^{Income Footnote 7} were considered to be in low income.

Based on the after-tax income low-income measure, the proportion of the population in low income in Portage la Prairie was 16.5%, similar to the rate of 16.4% observed in Manitoba. In Portage la Prairie, compared to the population of all ages, for persons under 18, the rate was higher (22.6%) and for the population aged 65 years and over, it was higher at 19.8%.

Table 5 – Income status based on after-tax low-income measure (LIM-AT) in 2010, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada

A map showing the proportion of the population in low income within Prairies Region is also available.

Housing

The number of households in Portage la Prairie was 5,390. The homeownership rate in Portage la Prairie was 70.1% - which was the same as the Manitoba homeownership rate of 70.1%.

Table 1 – Housing tenure for all households, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada

Portage la Prairie – Affordability^{Housing Footnote 1}

Households in Portage la Prairie that paid 30% or more of household total income toward shelter costs represented 20.5% of non-farm, non-reserve households with total income greater than zero. This proportion was higher than the Manitoba proportion (19.4%).

A lower proportion of owner households paid 30% or more compared to tenant households in Portage la Prairie (13.1% for owners versus 37.9% for renters).

Households in Portage la Prairie paid an average monthly shelter cost of $736 – which was lower than the Manitoba amount of $848. The average monthly shelter cost for tenant households was $578, this was lower than the average monthly shelter cost for owner households of $803.

Table 2 – Housing affordability for non-farm, non-reserve households, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada

Portage la Prairie – Need for major repairs^{Housing Footnote 2}

In Portage la Prairie, 6.9% of households reported living in dwellings that required major repairs. This was lower than the Manitoba proportion of 10.7%. The proportion of households reporting major repair requirements was lower for owners than renters (6.0% for owner-occupied dwellings and 9.0% for renter-occupied dwellings).

Table 3 – Need for major repairs by housing tenure, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada

Portage la Prairie – Suitability

In Portage la Prairie, 4.5% of households lived in dwellings that were not suitable; that is, the dwelling was crowded because there were not enough bedrooms based on the National Occupancy Standard.^{Housing Footnote 3} This was lower than the Manitoba proportion of 7.0%. The proportion of households living in dwellings that were not suitable was lower for owners than renters (3.8% for owner households and 5.9% for renter households).

Table 4 – Housing suitability by housing tenure, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada

Related data

• 2011 NHS Profile – Portage la Prairie, City (Census Subdivision), Manitoba
• 2011 NHS Data Tables – Portage la Prairie, City (Census Subdivision), Manitoba
  • Aboriginal Peoples
  • Immigration and Ethnocultural Diversity
  • Education and Labour
  • Income and Housing
• 2011 Census Focus on Geography Series – Portage la Prairie, City (Census Subdivision), Manitoba