2006 Aboriginal Population Profile for Fredericton

by Shelly Milligan

Introduction

This report examines the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the Aboriginal population living in the census agglomeration (CA) of Fredericton.¹ The First Nations reserve communities of St. Mary’s 24 and Devon 30 of Saint Mary’s and Kingsclear 6 of Kingsclear are located within the CA of Fredericton. The 2006 Census and 2006 Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS), which provide an extensive set of data about Aboriginal people, are the data sources.

The report focuses on the Aboriginal identity population, which refers to those people who reported identifying with at least one Aboriginal group, that is, North American Indian, Métis or Inuit, and/or those who reported being a Treaty Indian or a registered Indian as defined by the Indian Act of Canada, and/or those who reported they were members of an Indian band or First Nation.

The term ‘First Nations’ is used throughout the report to refer to people who identified as North American Indian. The term ‘Aboriginal population’ is used to refer to the Aboriginal identity population.

Setting the context

There were 1,172,790 Aboriginal people in Canada in 2006, accounting for 3.8% of Canada’s total population.

In 2006, a total of 17,655 Aboriginal people lived in New Brunswick, representing 2% of the provincial population.

There were 2,375 Aboriginal people living in the census agglomeration of Fredericton, which represented 3% of the total population of the CA. By comparison, the CA of Miramichi, with 1,300 Aboriginal people, had a larger proportion of Aboriginal people in that the Aboriginal population represented 5% of that CA’s total population.

Between 2001 and 2006, the Aboriginal population in Fredericton decreased by 10%, from 2,635 to 2,375 people. The First Nations population decreased by 10%, while the Métis population decreased by 19%.

First Nations—largest Aboriginal group in Fredericton

In 2006, 1,990 persons identified as First Nations people accounting for the majority (84%) of the Fredericton CA’s Aboriginal population. Another 220 identified as Métis and 40 as Inuit. The Métis accounted for 9% of the Aboriginal population while Inuit accounted for about 2%.²

Of those who identified as First Nations people in 2006, the majority (85%) reported being a Treaty Indian or a registered Indian as defined by the Indian Act of Canada.

A young population

The Aboriginal population living in the census agglomeration (CA) of Fredericton is slightly younger than the non-Aboriginal population. In 2006, the median age³ of the Aboriginal population in Fredericton was 27 years, compared to 39 years for the non-Aboriginal population.

In 2006, almost half (48%) of the Aboriginal people in Fredericton were under the age of 25, compared to 31% of the non-Aboriginal population. Furthermore, 4% of Aboriginal people were 65 years and over, compared to 12% of the non-Aboriginal population. About 28% of Aboriginal people in Fredericton were under the age of 15, compared to 17% of their non-Aboriginal counterparts (chart 1). For more details on the age distribution, (see table 1 in the appendix).

Aboriginal children aged 14 years and under represented 5% of the CA’s children. About one in three (28%) of the First Nations people and the Métis (27%) were 14 years of age and under.

Chart 1 Population pyramid for the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations, Fredericton, 2006

Aboriginal children less likely to live with both parents

In 2006, 63% of Aboriginal children aged 14 and under lived with both parents compared with 81% of non-Aboriginal children. Aboriginal children were more likely to live with a lone parent (28%) than their non-Aboriginal counterparts (18%) (see table 2 in the appendix).

Aboriginal youth less likely than non-Aboriginal youth to be attending school

Overall, in 2006, Aboriginal youth aged 15 to 24 living in Fredericton were less likely to be attending school than their non-Aboriginal counterparts (42% versus 67%). However, Aboriginal people had a slightly greater tendency to return to school later in life than did non-Aboriginal people. Of those aged 45 years and older, 8% of Aboriginal people were in school in 2006, compared to 4% of the non-Aboriginal population (see table 3 in the appendix).

Over half of Aboriginal people in Fredericton have completed postsecondary education

About half of Aboriginal men (53%) and Aboriginal women (54%) aged 25 to 64 had completed postsecondary education, compared to 65% of non-Aboriginal men and 66% of non-Aboriginal women. Postsecondary education includes a trades certificate, a college diploma or a university certificate, diploma or degree. Aboriginal men (26%) and women (8%) were more likely than their non-Aboriginal male (12%) and female (6%) counterparts to have obtained a trades qualification (see text table 1).

Text table 1 Highest level of educational attainment of people aged 25 to 64 years, by Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal identity and sex, Fredericton, 2006

Higher unemployment rates for Aboriginal people in Fredericton

In 2006, the unemployment rate⁴ for the Aboriginal core working age population (aged 25 to 54) in Fredericton was higher than that of the non-Aboriginal population (20.2% compared to 4.9%). Unemployment rates were slightly higher for Aboriginal men (22.7%) in Fredericton than they were for Aboriginal women (18.4%).

Chart 2 Unemployment rates for people aged 25 to 54 years, by Aboriginal identity group and sex, Fredericton, 2006

Aboriginal employment rates were lower than those of the non-Aboriginal population

Another measure of labour market performance is the employment rate.⁵ In 2006, the employment rates for the Aboriginal population were found to be lower than those of the non-Aboriginal population. The employment rates of Aboriginal men and women were similar at about 65.0%. In contrast, the employment rates for their non-Aboriginal counterparts were 87.7% and 79.5 respectively (see table 4 in the appendix).

Aboriginal women more likely to work full time full year than their male counterparts in Fredericton

Almost four in 10 (37%) Aboriginal people living in Fredericton were working full time full year⁶ in 2005. This percentage was slightly lower than that of the non-Aboriginal population (41%).

Aboriginal women (41%) were more likely than their male counterparts (32%) to be full-time full-year workers. Non-Aboriginal men (47%) were more likely than their female counterparts (36%) to be full-time full-year workers.

Text table 2 Percentage of full-time full-year workers, by Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal identity and sex, Fredericton, 2005

Occupations in 'sales and services' most prevalent

In studying the labour market of a given area, it is helpful to examine its occupational⁷ make-up. In 2006, the three most common occupational categories⁸ for both the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal experienced labour forces in Fredericton were ‘sales and service’, ‘trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations’ and ‘business, finance and administrative’. Aboriginal people were slightly more likely than non-Aboriginal people to work in ‘trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations’ (15% versus 12%) (see table 5 in the appendix).

Earnings gap closing

In 2000, the median earnings⁹ of full-time full-year Aboriginal earners in Fredericton (measured in 2005 dollars) were about $29,100. By 2005, this had slightly increased to about $29,800. Aboriginal people who worked full time full year in 2005 earned less than their non-Aboriginal counterparts at over $37,700. In addition, the gap between median earnings narrowed slightly. In 2000, Aboriginal people in Fredericton working full time full year earned 75% of what their non-Aboriginal counterparts were earning. By 2005, this percentage had increased to 79% (see table 6 in the appendix).

Total income lower for Aboriginal people

The census collects a number of measures of income that help in understanding the economic situation of a population. Earnings data have been provided for the population working full time full year in 2005. It is also useful to look at total income¹⁰ as sources of income go beyond that of employment. In 2005, just over one in 10 (11%) Aboriginal people with income in Fredericton had a total income of $40,000 or over, compared to just under three in 10 (29%) of their non-Aboriginal counterparts. In 2005, Aboriginal men had the lowest median income ($13,800), whether compared to Aboriginal women ($18,200) or to non-Aboriginal men ($31,600) or non-Aboriginal women ($21,500) (see table 7 in the appendix).

Additionally, in Fredericton, 7% of the Aboriginal population aged 15 years and over and 4% of their non-Aboriginal counterparts reported having no income in 2005 (data not shown).

About one-quarter of Aboriginal people in Fredericton living below the low income cut-off

Statistics Canada uses the concept of low income cut-off (LICO)¹¹ to indicate an income threshold below which a family will likely devote a larger share of its income on the necessities of food, shelter and clothing than the average family. In 2005, in Fredericton about one-quarter (24%) of Aboriginal people¹² were living under the LICO, compared to 13% of non-Aboriginal people. In addition, about one-third (33%) of Aboriginal children (aged 14 years and under) in Fredericton were living under the LICO, compared to 14% of non-Aboriginal children (data not shown). These data are based on the before-tax LICO.

Chart 3 Proportion of persons living below the before-tax low income cut-off by Aboriginal identity group and sex, Fredericton, 2005

Less than half of Fredericton's Aboriginal population moved at least once between 2001 and 2006

The census counts people where they are living on one particular day. On May 16, 2006 (the date of the 2006 Census) there were 2,375 Aboriginal people living in the census agglomeration area of Fredericton. This count does not include all of the Aboriginal people who may have lived in Fredericton at some point during the year, but only those who were living in Fredericton on that particular day.¹³

Moreover, census population counts may not reflect the possibility that people move between communities—for example, someone might move from a reserve community to a large city and back again within the same year. In Fredericton, in 2006, over half (63%) of the Aboriginal population had lived at the same address five years ago, compared to 59% of the non-Aboriginal population. From 2001 to 2006, just over one in 10 (16%) Aboriginal people had moved at least once within Fredericton, and the rest (21%) had moved to Fredericton from another community. A community may refer to another municipality, or a reserve, or a rural area (see table 8 in the appendix).

Slightly over one in five Aboriginal people live in homes needing major repairs

In Fredericton, the share of Aboriginal people living in homes requiring major repairs¹⁴ was 21% in 2006, compared to 20% in 2001. In comparison, the share of Fredericton non-Aboriginal population living in dwellings in need of major repairs was 7% in 2006 and 8% in 2001 (see table 9 in the appendix).

The share of Aboriginal people living in crowded¹⁵ homes was 2% in 2006 and 3% in 2001. In comparison, the share of Fredericton non-Aboriginal population living in crowded homes was 1% in both 2006 and in 2001.

Notes:

1. The geographic area covered in this report is the census agglomeration (CA) of Fredericton. A census agglomeration must have an urban core population of at least 10,000. For maps, see: Map.
2. Includes people who reported more than one Aboriginal identity group and those who reported being a registered or Treaty Indian and/or member of an Indian band or First Nation without reporting an Aboriginal identity.
3. The median age is the point where exactly one-half of the population is older and the other half is younger.
4. The unemployment rate for a particular group is the unemployed in that group, expressed as a percentage of the labour force in that group, in the week (Sunday to Saturday) prior to Census day (May 16, 2006).
5. The employment rate refers to the number of employed people, in a given group, as a percentage of the total population in that group.
6. The term 'full-time full-year workers' refers to persons 15 years of age and over who worked 49 to 52 weeks (mostly full time) in 2005 for pay or in self-employment.
7. Occupation refers to the kind of work persons were doing during the reference week, as determined by their kind of work and the description of the main activities in their job. If the person did not have a job during the week (Sunday to Saturday) prior to enumeration, the data relate to the job of longest duration since January 1, 2005. Persons with two or more jobs were to report the information for the job at which they worked the most hours.
8. Occupations contained within the categories can cover a broad range of skill levels. For example, the business and finance occupation category includes professional occupations requiring a university degree, as well as clerical occupations that require a high school diploma or equivalent.
9. Median earnings are earnings levels that divide the population into two halves, i.e., half of the population receiving less than this amount, and half, more. Earnings or employment income refers to the income received by persons 15 years of age and over during calendar year 2005 as wages and salaries, net income from a non-farm unincorporated business and/or professional practice, and/or net farm self-employment income.
10. Total income refers to the total money income received from the following sources during calendar year 2005 by persons 15 years of age and over: wages and salaries (total), net farm income, net non-farm income from unincorporated business and/or professional practice, child benefits, Old Age Security Pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement, benefits from Canada or Quebec Pension Plan, benefits from Employment Insurance, other income from government sources, dividends, interest on bonds, deposits and savings certificates, and other investment income, retirement pensions, superannuation and annuities, including those from registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) and registered retirement income funds (RRIFs), other money income.
11. The low income cut-off is a statistical measure of the income threshold level below which Canadians are estimated to devote at least one-fifth more of their income than the average family to the necessities of food, shelter and clothing. For the 2005 matrix of low income before-tax cut-offs and additional information, please refer to the 2006 Census Dictionary, Catalogue no. 92-566-X.
12. For the purposes of low income statistics, certain populations, including persons living on Indian reserves, are excluded. This is because the low income cut-offs are based on certain expenditure-income patterns from survey data which are not available for the entire population (the survey does not cover Indian reserves, the three territories and residents of institutions or military barracks).
13. For example, students who return to live with their parents during the year are included at their parents’ address, even if they lived elsewhere while attending school or working at a summer job.
    
14. Dwellings in need of major repairs are those that, in the judgment of the respondent, require major repairs to such things as defective plumbing or electrical wiring, and/or structural repairs to walls, floors or ceilings, etc.
15. Crowding is defined as more than one person per room. Not counted as rooms are bathrooms, halls, vestibules and rooms used solely for business purposes.
16. Chronic conditions were those that had lasted or were expected to last six months or more and had been diagnosed by a health professional.