The Aboriginal population in Canada, 2016 Census of Population

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Release date: October 25, 2017
Infographic: The Aboriginal population in Canada, 2016 Census of Population
Description: The Aboriginal population in Canada, 2016 Census of Population

The Aboriginal population in Canada is young and growing

  • Total population in 2016: 1,673,785
    (4.9% of Canada's total population)
  • Growth (2006 to 2016): +42.5%
  • Average age: 32.1 years
    (almost a decade younger than the non-Aboriginal population)
Aboriginal population in Canada
  First Nations people Métis Inuit
Population count 977,230 587,545 65,025
10-year growth 39.3% 51.2% 29.1%
Average age 30.6 34.7 27.7

Three-quarters of the First Nations population had registered Indian status.

  • 44% of First Nations population with registered Indian status lived on reserve.
  • 24% Not registered
  • 76% Registered

Eight CMAsFootnote 1 had a Métis population of more than 10,000 people...

  • Vancouver
  • Calgary
  • Edmonton
  • Saskatoon
  • Winnipeg
  • Toronto
  • Ottawa–Gatineau
  • Montréal

...which made up one-third (34%) of the Métis population.

The majority of the Inuit population lived in Inuit Nunangat, the homeland of Inuit in Canada.

  • 73% in the North
  • 27% in the rest of Canada

More than 70 Aboriginal languages were reported on the 2016 Census. 36 of those had at least 500 speakers.

  • Cree
  • Inuktitut
  • Ojibway
  • Oji-Cree
  • Dene
  • Montagnais (Innu)
  • Mi'kmaq
  • Atikamekw
  • Plains Cree
  • Blackfoot
  • Stoney
  • Woods Cree
  • Algonquin
  • Mohawk
  • Dogrib (Tlicho)
  • Swampy Cree
  • Carrier
  • Dakota
  • Naskapi
  • South Slavey
  • Inuinnaqtun
  • Shuswap (Secwepemctsin)
  • Gitxsan (Gitksan)
  • Michif
  • Chilcotin
  • Halkomelem
  • Nisga'a
  • North Slavey (Hare)
  • Okanagan
  • Lillooet
  • Malecite
  • Slavey
  • Inuvialuktun
  • Kwakiutl (Kwak'wala)
  • Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka)
  • Northern East Cree

Source: Statistics Canada, 2016 Census of Population.

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