Aboriginal Conditions in Census Metropolitan Areas, 1981 to 2001
by Andrew J. Siggner and Rosalinda Costa,
Trends and Conditions in Census Metropolitan Areas, June 2005, Catalogue
No. 89-613 No. 8
Context
This report is the eighth in a series that develops statistical measures
to shed light on important issues for Canada's cities. Statistics Canada
has worked on this project in collaboration with the Cities Secretariat,
Infrastructure Canada.
The objective is to provide statistical measures of trends and conditions
in our larger cities and the neighbourhoods within them. These measures
will be available for use in city planning and in policy development.
Objective(s)
This report examines the demographic and socio-economic characteristics
of the Aboriginal population living in 11 metropolitan centres that
had a population of at least 7,000 Aboriginal people in 2001, or whose
Aboriginal population accounted for at least 5% of the total population.
They are Montréal, Ottawa–Hull (now known as Ottawa–Gatineau),
Toronto, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Calgary,
Edmonton and Vancouver.
Findings
Aboriginal people living in the nation's largest metropolitan centres
were faring better overall in 2001 than they were two decades earlier,
according to a new report, but large gaps remained with their non-Aboriginal
counterparts.
In terms of learning, the proportion of Aboriginal youth who had higher
levels of schooling increased during the 20-year period. In addition,
School attendance among Aboriginal youth aged 15 to 24 rose substantially,
while the proportion of young adults aged 25 to 34 who had finished
post-secondary education rose as well. Gains were much more dramatic
for women than men.
In terms of labour market outcomes, overall employment rates improved
for Aboriginal people in most of the urban areas, and employment rates
for Aboriginal adults aged 25 to 44 who had completed their university
degrees were on par with their non-Aboriginal counterparts in 2001.
However, the gap in employment rates between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal
people did not change much over the 20-year period, except in Winnipeg,
Edmonton and Sudbury, where gaps closed substantially.
Meanwhile, the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal median income
from employment sources also closed in most of the urban centres.
Data source(s)
Data came from the censuses of 1981,
1996 and 2001, as well as the 2001 Aboriginal Peoples Survey.
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