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National Aboriginal Day... by the numbers

June 21, 2007

First celebrated in 1996, National Aboriginal Day has been designated by the federal government as a special day to celebrate the unique heritage, cultures and contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people in Canada.  For more information on this event, visit Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.

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Aboriginal population projections

4.1% - The projected Aboriginal proportion of Canada's population by 2017, when the nation celebrates its 150th anniversary. By 2017, some 1.39 million to 1.43 million persons could belong to one of the three Aboriginal groups: North American Indian population, Métis and Inuit.

3.4% - The proportion of Canada's population in 2001 that was Aboriginal, or about 1,066,500 people. (This figure, based on results of the 2001 Census, has been adjusted upwards to take into account factors such as net undercoverage.)

The Aboriginal population is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 1.8%, more than twice the rate of 0.7% for the general population. The biggest contributing factor to the more rapid growth is fertility, as the current Aboriginal birth rate is about 1.5 times the overall Canadian rate.

Source: The Daily, Tuesday, June 28, 2005, "Canada's Aboriginal population in 2017".

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Aboriginals living in urban centres

3 out of 10 - The proportion of Aboriginals (28%) who lived in an urban centre in 2001.

From 1981 to 2001, the Aboriginal population more than doubled in most centres, and in many cases more than tripled. This large population growth can be attributed to demographic factors such as fertility, mortality and migration. Another major factor has been the increased tendency for people to identify themselves as Aboriginal.

56,000 - The Aboriginal population of Winnipeg in 2001, more than triple the total 20 years earlier. Edmonton, in second spot, had nearly 41,000. The most dramatic increase occurred in Saskatoon, where the Aboriginal population increased almost five-fold from about 4,200 to more than 20,000.

Natural increase (births minus deaths) was a major contributor to the growth in Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Edmonton.

Source: The Daily, Thursday, June 23, 2005, "Study: Aboriginal people living in metropolitan areas".

For much more on Canada's First Nations peoples, see the 2005 edition of National Aboriginal Day... by the numbers.

Search for more data and analyses on Canada's Aboriginal populations by using the keyword Aboriginal in Statistics Canada's search module.

Watch for new 2006 Census data on Aboriginal peoples, to be released
January, 2008.