Analysis series Aboriginal peoples of Canada

Aboriginal peoples of Canada

Aboriginal share of total population on the rise
Aboriginal population much younger than the non-Aboriginal population, but is aging
One-quarter of Aboriginal people could conduct a conversation in an Aboriginal language
Aboriginal children less likely to live with both parents
Highest concentrations of Aboriginal population in the North and on the Prairies
About one-half of Aboriginal people lived in urban areas

Aboriginal share of total population on the rise

New data from the 2001 Census shows that the Aboriginal people's share of Canada's total population is on the rise.

Just over 1.3 million people reported having at least some Aboriginal ancestry in 2001, representing 4.4 % of the total population. In 1996, people with Aboriginal ancestry represented 3.8 % of the total population.

One hundred years of growth

From 1901 to 2001, the Aboriginal ancestry population increased tenfold, while the total population of Canada rose by a factor of only six. However, the rate of growth was very different in the first half of the 20th Century compared with the second half.

Population reporting Aboriginal ancestry (origin), Canada, 1901-2001

During the first 50 years, the Aboriginal population grew only 29%, whereas the total population far more than doubled (161%). This relatively slow rate of growth among the Aboriginal population occurred because high mortality rates more than offset high birth rates.

On the other hand, between 1951 and 2001, the Aboriginal ancestry population grew sevenfold, while the Canadian population as a whole only doubled.

The Aboriginal population had low growth until the 1960s. Starting in the 1960s, the infant death rate began to decline rapidly, mainly as a result of improved access to health services. The fertility rate continued to be high throughout the 1960s. This Aboriginal baby boom peaked in 1967, about 10 years later than the Canadian post-war baby boom.

Aboriginal fertility has remained above the overall Canadian birth rate, although the birth rate has declined from four times the Canadian rate in the 1960s to one-and-a-half times today. However, the surge in the Aboriginal population during the last half of the century was only partly due to demographic change.

The remaining increase is accounted for by various other factors, such as fewer incompletely enumerated reserves and an increased tendency of people to identify as Aboriginal. The trend to increased reporting of Aboriginal origins or identity has been evident since the 1986 Census and is thought to have resulted from an increased awareness of Aboriginal issues. This could have occurred as a result of numerous events, such as the Oka crisis, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, recent court decisions on Aboriginal rights and the creation of the territory of Nunavut. A similar trend in increased reporting has also been observed in the census counts of the indigenous population in Australia, the United States and New Zealand.

Nearly one million people identified themselves as Aboriginal

Not everyone who reported having an Aboriginal ancestor identified himself or herself as an Aboriginal person, that is, as a North American Indian, Métis or Inuit. For the purposes of this report, the analysis will concentrate on people who have identified themselves as a member of one or more of these Aboriginal groups.

In 2001, a total of 976,305 persons identified themselves with one (or more) of these groups. This count was 22.2% higher than the 1996 figure of 799,010. In contrast, the non-Aboriginal population grew only 3.4% between 1996 and 2001.

In 2001, people who identified themselves as Aboriginal accounted for 3.3% of the nation's total population, compared with 2.8% five years earlier.

About half the increase in the Aboriginal population can be attributed to demographic factors, such as their high birth rate. Increased awareness of one's Aboriginal roots likely accounted for another half, as more people identified themselves as Aboriginal and fewer reserves were incompletely enumerated.

Size and growth of the population reporting Aboriginal ancestry and Aboriginal identity, Canada, 1996-2001

Largest gains in Métis population

Of the three Aboriginal groups, the largest gain in population between 1996 and 2001 occurred among the Métis, whose numbers increased 43%.

This five-year growth was almost three times as fast as the 15% increase in the North American Indian population, and almost four times the 12% increase among the Inuit.

The census enumerated 292,310 Métis, who represented about 30% of the total Aboriginal population. This was up from 204,115 in 1996.

The majority of Aboriginal people, 608,850 or 62%, were North American Indian, and 5%, or 45,070, were Inuit. The remaining 3% were either persons who identified with more than one Aboriginal group or registered Indians or band members who did not identify as Aboriginal.

Canada's proportion of Aboriginal population second behind New Zealand

On the international level among selected countries, the Aboriginal peoples' share of Canada's total population, 3.3%, ranked second behind New Zealand, whose Maori population accounts for 14% of its total population.

Aboriginal peoples accounted for 2.2% of Australia's population, and 1.5% of the population of the United States.

	Aboriginal populations in selected countries, according to their latest Census

The Aboriginal population in 2001 was much younger than the non-Aboriginal population, but has still been aging. The median age of Canada's Aboriginal population was 13 years younger than that of the non-Aboriginal population, a result of the higher birth rate among Aboriginal people.

The median age for the Aboriginal population was 24.7 years, while that of the non-Aboriginal population was at an all-time high of 37.7 years. Median age is the point where exactly one-half of the population is older, and the other half is younger.

The territory of Nunavut and two provinces had the youngest Aboriginal populations. Aboriginal people in Nunavut had a median age of only 19.1. The median age in Saskatchewan was slightly higher at 20.1; in Manitoba, it was 22.8. In these regions, Aboriginal birth rates continue to be very high.

Median age for population reporting Aboriginal identity and non-Aboriginal population, Canada, provinces and territories, 2001

There is a trend toward aging in the Aboriginal population, albeit slower than in the total Canadian population. This aging is in large part due to a gradually improving life expectancy and to the declining birth rate among Aboriginal peoples.

Still, the Aboriginal birth rate is about 1.5 times that of the non-Aboriginal birth rate.

One-third of the Aboriginal population aged 14 and under

Children aged 14 and under represented one-third of the Aboriginal population in 2001, far higher than the corresponding share of 19% in the non-Aboriginal population.

Although the Aboriginal population accounted for only 3.3% of Canada's total population, Aboriginal children represented 5.6% of all children in Canada.

As these children move through the education system and into the labour market in coming years, they will account for an increasing part of the growth of the working-age population. This will be the case particularly in provinces with higher concentrations of Aboriginal people.

Although the share of the total Aboriginal population in Saskatchewan and Manitoba was relatively large - 14% in each of these provinces - the proportion of children at about 25% and 23% respectively, was much larger.

	Population reporting Aboriginal identity, by age groups, Canada, 1996 and 2001
	Population reporting Aboriginal identity aged 0-14 years as a percentage of all children, Canada, provinces and territories, 2001

Aboriginal seniors: A small but growing population

The number of Aboriginal seniors, while relatively small, soared 40% between 1996 and 2001 to 39,700. This was by far the biggest increase of all broad age groups. At the same time, the number of seniors in the non-Aboriginal population increased only 10%.

Improvements in Aboriginal life expectancy over the last 25 years have begun to affect the growth in the Aboriginal population aged 65 and over. Life expectancy at birth among the status Indian population, for example, has gone up for males from 59.2 years in 1975 to 68.9 years in 2000, and for females from 65.9 years to 76.3.

Life expectancy is still lower in the Aboriginal population than in the non-Aboriginal population. However, the gap is narrowing over time. In 1975, the life expectancy for Canadian males was 11.1 years higher than that for the status Indian male population. By 2000, this gap had narrowed to only 7.4 years. Similarly, the gap for life expectancy at birth closed between status Indian and Canadian women from 11.7 years to 5.2 during this period.

Nevertheless, the percentage of Aboriginal seniors in this population remained low because of the overall youthfulness of the Aboriginal population. The share of seniors only accounted for about 4% of the Aboriginal population, up slightly from five years earlier. In contrast, seniors represented 13% of the non-Aboriginal population.

A total of 235,075 individuals, or about one-quarter (24%) of the 976,305 people who identified themselves as North American Indian, Métis or Inuit in 2001, reported that they had enough knowledge of an Aboriginal language to carry on a conversation. This was down from 29% in 1996.

However, not all Aboriginal languages showed a decline in the number of people with knowledge. Eight of the 14 languages with at least 2000 speakers in 2001 had increased since 1996, while six languages showed declines.

A total of 31,945 people reported they could carry on a conversation in Inuktitut, the second most common Aboriginal language, up 8.7% from 29,400 in 1996.

The number who could conduct a conversation in Dene increased from 9,525 to 10,500, while those who could speak Montagnais-Naskapi went from 9,335 to 10,285. Both had increases of 10.2%. The number of people who could speak Attikamekw rose 21.1% from 4,075 to 4,935.

Regular use of a language is key to maintaining its vitality. About nine out of every 10 people with knowledge of these four languages reported that they spoke the language at home, indicating that they used it at least regularly.

Also posting gains in knowledge between 1996 and 2001 were Micmac, up 8.2% from 7,975 to 8,625; Dakota/Sioux, up 3.5% from 4,710 to 4,875 and Oji-Cree from 5,480 to 5,610, up 2.4%.

However, these languages were used less at home. Eight out of 10 people who knew Micmac or Oji-Cree spoke it at least regularly at home, as did seven out of 10 for Dakota/Sioux.

Both Cree and Ojibway, the first and third best known languages, showed declines in knowledge (-3.1% and -6.0% respectively) as did Blackfoot (-20.2%). About three out of four of those with knowledge of Cree spoke it at least regularly at home and less than two out of three of those knowing Ojibway or Blackfoot did so. Further analysis is needed to understand the many factors affecting the evolution of the knowledge and use of Aboriginal languages.

Decline in Aboriginal languages as a mother tongue

Overall, the census showed a decrease in Aboriginal languages as a mother tongue, that is, the first language learned at home in childhood and still understood.

In 2001, a total of 198,595 Aboriginal people reported having an Aboriginal mother tongue, down 3.5% from 205,800 in 1996. As was the case for knowledge, there were declines in the number of persons with Cree, Ojibway and Blackfoot as mother tongues.

However, as also was the case for knowledge, not all Aboriginal languages saw a decline in mother tongue. The same languages which posted increases in knowledge, as well as higher rates of use at home, also showed increases in mother tongue.

These languages were: Inuktitut, Montagnais-Naskapi, Dene, Micmac, Oji-Cree, Attikamekw and Dakota/Sioux. Their gains ranged from 0.2% for Dakota/Sioux to 18.6% for Attikamekw between 1996 and 2001.

	Aboriginal-identity population with knowledge of an Aboriginal language and with an Aboriginal language as mother tongue, for selected languages with 2,000 or more speakers, Canada, 1996 and 2001
	Aboriginal-identity population using an Aboriginal language at home compared with their knowledge of an Aboriginal language, for selected languages with 2,000 or more speakers, Canada, 2001

Proportionally, far fewer Aboriginal children aged 14 and under lived with two parents in 2001 than did non-Aboriginal children.

In large urban areas Aboriginal children were almost as likely to live with a single parent as they were with both parents.

About 65% of Aboriginal children living on reserves lived with two parents. This compares with only 50% in census metropolitan areas. In contrast, almost 83% of non-Aboriginal children lived with two parents.

Conversely, twice the proportion of Aboriginal children lived with a lone parent in 2001 as did non-Aboriginal children. On reserves, 32% of Aboriginal children lived with a lone parent. This percentage jumped to 46% for those in the census metropolitan areas. Only 17% of non-Aboriginal children lived with a lone parent.

Not all Aboriginal children lived with their immediate families. Just under 5% of those living in large urban areas lived with either a relative other than their parent(s), or lived with a non-relative. This compares with only about 0.6% among non-Aboriginal children.

Living arrangements of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children under 15 years of age, by area of residence, Canada, 2001

Canada's most populous province, Ontario, had 188,315 Aboriginal people in 2001, the highest absolute number. However, they accounted for less than 2% of its total population. Second was British Columbia with 170,025, or 4.4% of its population.

As in previous censuses, the highest concentrations of Aboriginal population in 2001 were in the North and on the Prairies.

The 22,720 Aboriginal people in Nunavut represented 85% of the territory's total population, the highest concentration in the country. Aboriginal people represented more than one-half (51%) of the population of the Northwest Territories, and almost one-quarter (23%) of the population of the Yukon.

The census enumerated 150,040 Aboriginal people in Manitoba and 130,190 in Saskatchewan, in each case about 14% of the province's population. The 156,220 Aboriginal people in Alberta accounted for only 5% of its population.

	Population reporting Aboriginal identity, Canada, provinces and territories, 2001
	Population reporting Aboriginal identity according to their percentage of the total population, Canada, provinces and territories, 2001

Census data show slow, but steady, growth among Aboriginal people residing in the nation's cities. The following data have been adjusted for incomplete enumeration on Indian reserves in 1996 and 2001. In 2001, almost one-half (49%) of the population who identified themselves as Aboriginal lived in urban areas, up from 47% in 1996.

At the same time, the proportion of Aboriginal people who lived on Indian reserves and settlements declined from 33% to 31%.

The overall proportion of the population that lived in rural non-reserve areas declined slightly from 20.4% to 19.5%.

Population reporting Aboriginal identity, by area of residence, Canada, 1996 and 2001

One-quarter of the Aboriginal population lived in 10 metropolitan areas

A total of 245,000 Aboriginal people, or 25% of all Aboriginal people, lived in 10 of the nation's 27 census metropolitan areas in 2001.

Winnipeg had the greatest number, followed by Edmonton, Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Saskatoon, Regina, Ottawa-Hull (now known as Ottawa-Gatineau), Montréal and Victoria.

The 55,755 Aboriginal people who lived in Winnipeg represented 8% of its total population. Five years earlier, Winnipeg had 45,750 Aboriginal people who accounted for 7% of its population.

The highest concentration in 2001 was in the census metropolitan area of Saskatoon, whose 20,275 Aboriginal people accounted for 9% of its population. Aboriginal people accounted for less than 1% of the population in Canada's two largest census metropolitan areas: Toronto (0.4%) and Montréal (0.3%).

Among municipalities, the concentration of Aboriginal people was by far the greatest in the Saskatchewan city of Prince Albert, where the census enumerated 11,640 Aboriginal people. They accounted for 29% of Prince Albert's total population.

Prince George, B.C., was a distant second, with 9% of its population identifying itself as Aboriginal.

Population reporting Aboriginal identity in selected census metropolitan areas (CMA) and census agglomerations (CA)with an Aboriginal population of 5000 or more, 1996 and 2001

One in five Aboriginal people moved in the past year

Aboriginal people are more mobile than other Canadians. Their high level of mobility creates challenges for planning and implementing programs in education, social services, housing and health care, especially in urban areas.

Overall, in the 12 months before the May 15, 2001 Census, 22% of Aboriginal people moved, compared with only 14% of their non-Aboriginal counterparts. About two thirds of those who moved, did so within the same community, while about one third of movers changed communities.

Net migration among Aboriginal people was greatest for the rural non-reserve parts of the nation as compared with net movements for Indian reserves or urban areas. (Note that the figures below have been adjusted for incompletely enumerated Indian reserves.)

During this period, the rural (non-reserve) areas of Canada incurred a net loss due to migration of 4,300 Aboriginal people, that is, the difference between the 18,850 people who moved out and the 14,550 who moved in. This net loss represented 2.2% of the total Aboriginal population of 192,830 who lived in these areas.

On the other hand, there was a net gain of almost 4,000 Aboriginal people to the reserves, with 11,210 moving onto reserves and 7,230 leaving. These 4,000 people represented 1.5% of the total on-reserve population.

There was also a slight net gain of about 1,265 Aboriginal people to census metropolitan areas. A total of 24,065 Aboriginal people moved into one of the 27 census metropolitan areas, while 22,800 moved out. This net gain represented only 0.5% of the 274,365 Aboriginal people who lived in these large urban areas.

Conversely, more Aboriginal people moved out of the smaller, non-metropolitan urban areas than moved in. A total of 24,155 Aboriginal people moved into these areas in the year prior to the census, while 25,100 moved out. This net loss of 945 also represented 0.5% of the total Aboriginal population of 209,905 who lived in these smaller urban centres.

Rate of in-, out-, and net migration in the population reporting Aboriginal identity, by area of residence, Canada, 2000-2001

The pattern in 2001 of small net increases in the movement to reserves and larger urban centres is a continuation of a trend that has been observed since 1981.