NHS Focus on Geography Series – Elliot Lake

Demographic characteristics of Aboriginal people

In 2011, 6.5% (730) of the population of Elliot Lake had an Aboriginal identity.^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 1} Of those, 35.6% (260) reported a First Nations identity^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 2} only, 58.9% (430) reported a Métis identity only, and 2.1% (15) reported an Inuit identity only. An additional 0, or 0.0%, reported other Aboriginal identities and 0, or 0.0%, reported more than one Aboriginal identity.

Table 1 – Population by Aboriginal identity, Elliot Lake

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

In Elliot Lake, Aboriginal children aged 14 and under represented 19.9% of the total Aboriginal population and 12.3% of all children in Elliot Lake. Non-Aboriginal children aged 14 and under accounted for 9.9% 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, Elliot Lake

Living arrangements of Aboriginal children

In Elliot Lake, 41.4% of Aboriginal children aged 14 and under lived in a family^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 3} with both their parents (biological or adoptive) and 55.2% 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, Elliot Lake

Language and Aboriginal peoples

In 2011, 0.0% 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, 0.0% of Aboriginal people reported speaking an Aboriginal language at home: 0.0% spoke it most often while another 0.0% 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, Elliot Lake

In Elliot Lake, 57.5% of the Aboriginal identity population reported that they were able to conduct a conversation only in English or only in French. Additionally, 42.5% 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, Elliot Lake

In Elliot Lake, among the 0 Aboriginal people who reported being able to conduct a conversation in an Aboriginal language, % reported that same language as their mother tongue. The other % 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 0 Aboriginal people who reported an Aboriginal language as mother tongue, % 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, Elliot Lake

Immigrant population

According to the 2011 National Household Survey (NHS), 1,390 (12.4%) of the population of Elliot Lake were foreign-born (immigrants), 9,745 (87.3%) were Canadian-born (non-immigrants) and 35 (0.3%) were non-permanent residents.^{Ethnocultural Footnote 1} In comparison, the proportion of the population of Ontario who were immigrants was 28.5%, 70.4% were non-immigrants, and 1.1% were non-permanent residents.

Figure 1 Percentage of Canadian born (non-immigrants), foreign born (immigrants) and non permanent residents in Elliot Lake (City)

Figure 1 Percentage of Canadian born (non-immigrants), foreign born (immigrants) and non permanent residents in Elliot Lake (City)

Of the immigrants living in Elliot Lake in 2011, 0 came to Canada between 2006 and 2011. These recent immigrants made up 0.0% of the immigrants in Elliot Lake.

The most common countries of birth of immigrants living in Elliot Lake were: United Kingdom (accounting for 40.3% of the immigrant population in Elliot Lake) and Germany (11.5%). In comparison, the top countries of birth of immigrants living in Ontario were: India (accounting for 8.6% of the immigrant population in Ontario), and United Kingdom (8.1%).

In 2011, among Elliot Lake's immigrant population, 95.0% spoke English and/or French most often at home. Meanwhile, the two most frequently reported non-official languages spoken most often at home by immigrants in Elliot Lake were German and Hungarian. This compared to the top three non-official languages for immigrants in Ontario, which were Cantonese, Chinese, n.o.s. and Panjabi (Punjabi).^{Ethnocultural Footnote 2}

Table 1 – Immigrants by non-official languages spoken most often at home, Elliot Lake (City), Ontario

Visible minority population and ethnic origins

The 2011 NHS estimated that 285 individuals in Elliot Lake belonged to a visible minority group, accounting for 2.6% of its total population.^{Ethnocultural Footnote 1} In comparison, visible minorities comprised 25.9% of Ontario's population.

The largest visible minority groups living in Elliot Lake were Black and Chinese. In Ontario, the largest visible minority groups were South Asian and Chinese.

The three most frequently reported ethnic origins in Elliot Lake, for people reporting either one or multiple ethnic origins, were Canadian, English and French. This compared to the top three in Ontario, which were Canadian, English and Scottish.

Table 2 – Most frequently reported ethnic origins, Elliot Lake (City), Ontario

Religion

According to the 2011 NHS, 79.0% of the population in Elliot Lake reported a religious affiliation, while 20.9% said they had no religious affiliation.^{Ethnocultural Footnote 1} For Ontario as a whole, 76.9% of the population reported a religious affiliation, while 23.1% had no religion.

The most frequently reported religious affiliation in Elliot Lake was Roman Catholic, reported by 4,495 (40.3%) of the population. Other frequently reported religions included: United Church (9.6%) and Anglican (8.6%). In comparison, the top three most frequently reported religions in Ontario were: Roman Catholic (reported by 31.2% of the population of Ontario), United Church (7.5%) and Anglican (6.1%).

Table 3 – Most frequently reported religions, Elliot Lake (City), Ontario

Educational attainment ^{Education Footnote 1}

In 2011, 47.5% of the 9,005 adults aged 25 years and over in Elliot Lake had completed some form of postsecondary education, compared with 59.6% at the national level.

Of the population aged 25 years and over in Elliot Lake, 13.7% had a university certificate or degree. An additional 20.1% had a college diploma and 13.8% 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 29.3%, and 23.1% 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}, Elliot Lake (City), Ontario, 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 Elliot Lake, 43.8% of those aged 65 years and over had a postsecondary credential, compared to 52.0% of adults between 25 and 44 years of age; 31.5% of individuals aged 65 years and over had no certificate, diploma or degree, compared to 14.8% of 25 to 44 year-olds.

Elliot Lake (City) – Proportion of the population aged 25 years and over by level of educational attainment and age groups

Elliot Lake (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, Elliot Lake (City), Ontario, Canada

Location of study^{Education Footnote 11}

In 2011, there were 4,280 residents of Elliot Lake aged 25 years and over with postsecondary credentials. Of these graduates, 79.6% had studied in Ontario, 9.3% had studied in another province or territory and 11.0% 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, Elliot Lake (City)

Labour

In Elliot Lake, 3,150 people were employed and 625 were unemployed for a total labour force of 3,780 in May 2011. The employment rate was at 31.5% and the unemployment rate was at 16.5%.

Table 1 Total population aged 15 years and over by labour force status, Elliot Lake (City), Ontario

Within Elliot Lake, 11.1% of the employed labour force was aged 15 to 24 and 23.3% was aged 55 to 64. This compares to 12.6% and 15.2% respectively for Ontario.

Table 2 Employed labour force by age groups, Elliot Lake (City), Ontario

Within Elliot Lake, the top occupations were: Service support and other service occupations, n.e.c.; Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations; Professional occupations in education services; Sales representatives and salespersons - Wholesale and retail trade. For Ontario as a whole the top occupations were: Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations; Service support and other service occupations, n.e.c.; Sales representatives and salespersons - Wholesale and retail trade.

Table 3 Top occupations for the employed labour force, Elliot Lake (City), Ontario

Within Elliot Lake, the top industries were: Health care and social assistance; Retail trade; Educational services. For Ontario as a whole the top industries were: Retail trade; Health care and social assistance; Manufacturing.

Table 4 Top industries for the employed labour force, Elliot Lake (City), Ontario

The number of self-employed in Elliot Lake amounted to 245 or 7.8% of all total employed workers.

Table 5 Employed labour force by class of workers, Elliot Lake (City), Ontario

In 2011, 2.3% of commuters within Elliot Lake used public transit to get to work. This compares to Ontario at 14.0%. 75.8% of the population used a car, truck or van as a driver, while 8.4% used a car, truck or van as a passenger. The average commuting time to work in Elliot Lake was 13.7 minutes, this compares to Ontario at 27.6 minutes.

Within Elliot Lake, 81.4% of the employed labour force aged 15 years and over worked at their usual place, 4.4% worked at home and 13.3% had no fixed workplace address.

Table 6 Employed labour force by mode of transportation, Elliot Lake (City), Ontario

Table 7 Average commuting duration for the employed labour force, Elliot Lake (City), Ontario

Table 8 Employed Labour force by time leaving for work, Elliot Lake (City), Ontario

Table 9 Employed labour force by place of work status, Elliot Lake (City), Ontario

In Elliot Lake, 95.1% (4,075) 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, 2.7% (115) reported French only and 2.2% (95) 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, 1.4% (60) of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported working in English on a regular basis, 12.6% (540) 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 0.6% (25) a non-official language only.

In Ontario, 95.8% (6,946,430) 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, 1.3% (94,475) reported French only and 0.7 (54,120) said they used both official languages (English and French) equally. Furthermore, 0.7% 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 Ontario, the proportions are as follows: 1.3% (96,395) reported using English; 3.3% (239,920) use French; 0.0% (305) use both official languages; 0.1% (8,550) reported using an official language and a non-official language; and 2.6% (189,765) a non-official language only.

Table 10 Languages used at work, Elliot Lake (City), Ontario

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 Elliot Lake, 66.6% of total income was from market income in 2010 and 33.4% was from government transfers. (Aggregate total income for Elliot Lake was 291.6 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 Elliot Lake, it accounted for $63.90 of every $100 of market income, below the figure for Ontario of $85.30. For the two components of employment income, wages and salaries represented $62.10 and net income from self-employment, $1.70.

The other components of market income were smaller than employment income: in Elliot Lake, investment income represented $5.30 per $100 of market income, retirement income, $27.70 and $3.10 came from other private sources of money.

The main government transfer received in Elliot Lake was Canada Pension Plan or Quebec Pension Plan with $33.60 of every $100 of total government transfers received, followed by: Old Age Security (OAS) pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement ($28.10), Other income from government sources ($26.40), Employment Insurance benefits ($7.40), and Child benefits ($4.60).

Table 1 – Income composition for the population in private households in 2010, Elliot Lake, Ontario, 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 Elliot Lake, 2.1% percent of the population aged 15 years and over had total income that put them in the top five percent and 0.3% in the top one percent. This compared with 5.0% and 1.0% in Canada.

Table 2 – Population aged 15 years and over by total income, Elliot Lake, Ontario, 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 Elliot Lake, 33.9% worked full year, full time^{Income Footnote 4} in 2010 compared to 52.2% in Ontario. The median employment income was $43,247 for these workers ($50,116 for those in Ontario).

Family income

The median after-tax income of economic families in Elliot Lake in 2010 was $48,636, the median for couple families was $51,585 and for lone-parent families, $29,600. For persons not in economic families (persons living alone or with non relatives only), the median after-tax income was $23,827.

These compare to the medians in Ontario of $71,128 for after-tax family income of all economic families, $76,951 for couple families, $44,398 for lone-parent families and $27,319 for persons living alone or without relatives.

Table 3 – Median after-tax income in 2010 for economic families and persons not in economic families, Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada

Figure 2 Median after-tax income in 2010 for Elliot Lake, Ontario and Canada

Median after-tax income in 2010 for Elliot Lake, Ontario and Canada

Families came in different sizes and larger families may have benefited from pooling of resources and economies of scale. In Elliot Lake, based on their after-tax income adjusted for family size, 33.3% of the population was in the top half of the income distribution, below the rate of 53.5% in Ontario.

In Elliot Lake, the percentage of the population in the lowest income decile group^{Income Footnote 5} at 13.7% was higher than in Ontario (9.3%). The percentage of the population in the highest decile group was 3.5%, lower than in Ontario (11.6%).

Table 4 – Population in private households by adjusted after-tax family income in 2010, Elliot Lake, Ontario, 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 Elliot Lake was 19.9%, above the rate of 13.9% observed in Ontario. In Elliot Lake, compared to the population of all ages, for persons under 18, the rate was higher (38.0%) and for the population aged 65 years and over, it was lower at 7.0%.

Table 5 – Income status based on after-tax low-income measure (LIM-AT) in 2010, Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada

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

Housing

The number of households in Elliot Lake was 5,680. The homeownership rate in Elliot Lake was 60.2% - which was lower than the Ontario homeownership rate of 71.4%.

Table 1 – Housing tenure for all households, Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada

Elliot Lake – Affordability^{Housing Footnote 1}

Households in Elliot Lake that paid 30% or more of household total income toward shelter costs represented 24.2% of non-farm, non-reserve households with total income greater than zero. This proportion was lower than the Ontario proportion (27.0%).

A lower proportion of owner households paid 30% or more compared to tenant households in Elliot Lake (12.7% for owners versus 41.6% for renters).

Households in Elliot Lake paid an average monthly shelter cost of $655 – which was lower than the Ontario amount of $1,181. The average monthly shelter cost for tenant households was $671, this was higher than the average monthly shelter cost for owner households of $644.

Table 2 – Housing affordability for non-farm, non-reserve households, Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada

Elliot Lake – Need for major repairs^{Housing Footnote 2}

In Elliot Lake, 10.5% of households reported living in dwellings that required major repairs. This was higher than the Ontario proportion of 6.6%. The proportion of households reporting major repair requirements was higher for owners than renters (12.1% for owner-occupied dwellings and 7.7% for renter-occupied dwellings).

Table 3 – Need for major repairs by housing tenure, Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada

Elliot Lake – Suitability

In Elliot Lake, 3.5% 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 Ontario proportion of 7.2%. The proportion of households living in dwellings that were not suitable was lower for owners than renters (2.8% for owner households and 4.6% for renter households).

Table 4 – Housing suitability by housing tenure, Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada

Related data

• 2011 NHS Profile – Elliot Lake, City (Census Subdivision), Ontario
• 2011 NHS Data Tables – Elliot Lake, City (Census Subdivision), Ontario
  • Aboriginal Peoples
  • Immigration and Ethnocultural Diversity
  • Education and Labour
  • Income and Housing
• 2011 Census Focus on Geography Series – Elliot Lake, City (Census Subdivision), Ontario