Aboriginal Identity Population: North American Indian, Métis or Inuit (2006)

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Abstract

The map shows the distribution of the population by census division and census subdivision who identified themselves in the 2006 Census as North American Indian, Inuit, or Métis. According to the 2006 Census, 698 025 people identified themselves as North American Indian also referred to as 'First Nations people,' 389 785 people identified themselves as Métis and 50 485 people identified themselves as Inuit. Ontario and the western provinces combined accounted for an estimated 577 300 First Nations people, or four-fifths (83%) of the total First Nations population. Nine out of 10 people, about 87% who identified themselves as Métis lived in either the western provinces or Ontario. Just over three-quarters of Inuit in Canada (78%), or about 40 000 people, lived in one of four regions within Inuit Nunaat, the Inuit language expression for 'Inuit homeland,' a region stretching from Labrador to the Yukon.

Registered or Treaty Indians

The majority of First Nations people are Registered Indians or Treaty Indians, meaning they are registered under the Indian Act. Registered Indians are people who are entitled to have their names included on the Indian Register, an official list maintained by the federal government. Certain criteria determine who can be registered as a Status Indian. Only Status Indians are recognized as Indians under the Indian Act, which defines an Indian as 'a person who, pursuant to this Act, is registered as an Indian or is entitled to be registered as an Indian.' Status Indians are entitled to certain rights and benefits under the law. Treaty Indians are persons who are registered under the Indian Act and can prove descent from a band that signed a treaty. The 2006 Census enumerated 564 870 people who reported they were Registered or Treaty Indians. Registered or Treaty Indians comprised 81% of the total First Nations population in 2006.

First Nations People in Provinces and Territories

Ontario and the western provinces combined accounted for an estimated 577 300 First Nations people, or four-fifths (83%) of the total First Nations population, according to the 2006 Census. These population counts do not include counts of persons living on Indian reserves that were incompletely enumerated in 2006, that is, reserves that did not participate in the 2006 Census because enumeration was not permitted or because it was interrupted before completion. Ten of 22 incompletely enumerated reserves in 2006 were located in Ontario, 7 in Quebec, 3 in Alberta, 1 in Saskatchewan and 1 in British Columbia. About 158 395 First Nations people (23%) lived in Ontario; 129 580 (19%) lived in British Columbia; 100 645 (14%) in Manitoba; 97 275 (14%) in Alberta; and 91 400 (13%) in Saskatchewan.

Despite the large populations in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, First Nations people accounted for only 3% or less of the respective provincial populations in 2006. In contrast, First Nations people represented three out of every 10 persons living in the Northwest Territories, two in 10 in the Yukon and about one in 10 in both Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

First Nations People in Urban Areas

An estimated 149 350 people, or 21% of the First Nations population, lived in 10 of the nation's 33  census metropolitan areas (CMAs) in 2006. Winnipeg counted 25 900, the largest number, followed by Vancouver (23 515), Edmonton (22 440) and Toronto (17 275). Other census metropolitan areas with a large First Nations population were Saskatoon (11 510), Calgary (10 875), Ottawa - Gatineau (10 790), Montréal (10 130), Regina (9 495) and Thunder Bay (7 420).

Métis in Provinces and Territories

Nine out of 10 people, about 87% who identified themselves as Métis lived in either the western provinces or Ontario. The census enumerated 85 500, or 22%, in Alberta; 73 605, or 19%, in Ontario; 71 805, or 18%, in Manitoba; 59 445, or 15%, in British Columbia; and 48 115, or 12%, in Saskatchewan.

The census also counted 27 980 Métis in Quebec, representing 7% of the total Métis population. In the remaining provinces and territories, the number of Métis was small. An estimated 18 805, or 5% of Métis, lived in the Atlantic Provinces. This 5% consists of, 680 Métis in Nova Scotia, 6 470 in Newfoundland and Labrador; 4 270 in New Brunswick, and 385 Métis in Prince Edward Island.

Only 1% of Métis lived in the territories (4 515). This includes the Northwest Territories (3 580), the Yukon Territory (805) and Nunavut (130).

Métis in Urban Areas

In 2006, nearly seven out of 10 Métis (69%) lived in urban areas, up slightly from 67% in 1996. (Urban areas include large cities, or CMAs, and smaller urban centres or census agglomerations CAs).

In 2006, urban Métis were twice as likely as urban non-Aboriginal people to live in smaller urban centres. An estimated 41% of urban Métis lived in cities with a population of less than 100 000, compared with 20% of their non-Aboriginal counterparts.

The remaining 59% of urban Métis lived in census metropolitan areas. These percentages have changed very little since 1996.

Winnipeg Home to Largest Number of Urban Métis

The census enumerated 40 980 Métis living in Winnipeg in 2006, the largest Métis population of all census metropolitan areas. They accounted for 6% of Winnipeg's population.

Other census metropolitan areas with large Métis populations were Edmonton (27 740), Vancouver (15 075), Calgary (14 770) and Saskatoon (9 610). The Métis accounted for 4% of Saskatoon's population, 3% of Edmonton's and 1% of those of both Calgary and Vancouver.

Métis make up a considerable share of the population in several smaller urban centres in Ontario and the West. In 2006, 17% of the population living in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, were Métis, as were 7% of the population of North Battleford and Lloydminster, both in Saskatchewan. They accounted for about 10% of the population of Portage la Prairie and Thompson, both in Manitoba.

An estimated 9% of people living in Midland, Ontario, and 8%, in Kenora, Ontario, were Métis, as were 8% in Dawson Creek and 5% in Prince George, both in British Columbia.

Métis also made up about 5% of the population in each of the Alberta communities of Grande Prairie and Wood Buffalo, the Alberta part of Lloydminster (3%) and Cold Lake (6%). In the Northwest Territories, 7% of the population of Yellowknife was Métis.

Inuit in Inuit Nunaat (the Inuit ‘homeland’)

According to the 2006 Census, just over three-quarters of Inuit in Canada (78%), or about 4 000 people, lived in one of four regions within Inuit Nunaat, the Inuit language expression for 'Inuit homeland,' a region stretching from Labrador to the Yukon and Northwest Territories. See Figure 1 below for map of the Inuit Regions.

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Figure 1. Inuit Regions

Inuit Nunaat comprises four regions: Nunavut, Nunavik (in northern Quebec), Nunatsiavut (in northern Labrador), and the Inuvialuit Region (in the Yukon and Northwest Territories). While Inuit in each of these regions share a common culture and many traditions, each region is, at the same time, distinct. For example, traditions can sometimes vary and there is much linguistic and geographic diversity from one region (and sometimes from one community within the same region) to the next.

The 2006 Census enumerated 24 635 Inuit in Nunavut, which has both the largest land mass and biggest Inuit population, accounting for nearly one-half (49%) of the total Inuit population in Canada. Nunavik, the region in northern Quebec was home to 9 565 Inuit, or 19% of the total Inuit population. The Inuvialuit Region, in the Yukon and Northwest Territories had a population of 3 115 Inuit, accounting for 6% of all Inuit nationally, and Nunatsiavut, in northern Labrador had a population of 2 160 Inuit, or 4% of the total Inuit population.

Inuit made up the majority of the population in all four regions. They accounted for 90% of the total population in Nunavik, 89% in Nunatsiavut, 84% in Nunavut and 55% in the Inuvialuit Region.

Inuit Outside Inuit Nunaat

While most Inuit live in Inuit Nunaat, a growing percentage lives in other parts of Canada, and in particular, southern urban centres. In 2006, 22% of Inuit lived outside Inuit Nunaat, up from 17% in 1996.

The 2006 Census enumerated 8 395 Inuit who lived in urban centres outside Inuit Nunaat, up about 60% from 5 235 in 1996. In 2006, they represented 17% of the total Inuit population, an increase from 13% a decade earlier. An additional 5% of all Inuit lived in rural areas outside Inuit Nunaat.

In 2006, the urban centres outside Inuit Nunaat with the largest Inuit populations were Ottawa - Gatineau, 725; Yellowknife, 640; Edmonton, 590; Montréal, 570; and Winnipeg, 355.

The Daily is Statistics Canada's official release bulletin. The Daily for January 15, 2008, marked the public release of this census variable. Highlight tables allowing users to perform simple rank and sort functions with the data at various levels of geography are available for this variable here: Aboriginal Peoples Highlight Tables, 2006 Census. Technical notes for this variable can be found at Aboriginal Peoples Technical Report, 2006 Census, Catalogue number 92-569-XWE.

The text was adapted from Statistics Canada, Aboriginal Peoples in Canada in 2006: Inuit, Métis and First Nations, 2006 Census, Catalogue number 97-558-XIE2006001. Statistics Canada information is used with the permission of Statistics Canada. Information on the availability of the wide range of data from Statistics Canada can be obtained from the Statistics Canada’s Regional Offices, its World Wide Web site at www.statcan.gc.ca, and its toll-free access number 1-800-263-1136.