34
Canada‘s Projections of the Aboriginal Populations. These are the data used in this sub-
section.12
In 2001, the Census indicated that 976,305 individuals identified themselves as
Aboriginal Canadians. However, due to general undercount and incompletely enumerated
reserves, as noted above, it is estimated that 90,195 Aboriginal Canadians were not included.
Including these individuals, 1,066,500 Aboriginals lived in Canada in 2001. Of the difference
between the two population estimates, 31,000 is due to incompletely enumerated reserves and
the remainder, 59,195, is due to general Census undercount. The Aboriginal population
accounted for 3.4 per cent of the total Canadian population in 2001 according to the adjusted
number (Table 1).
The Aboriginal population is classified into three groups: North American Indians, Metis
and Inuits. In the Census, these are referred to as Aboriginal Identity groups. Individuals are
asked to self-identify when completing the questionnaire. Two problems arise: some choose to
identify as belonging to more than one group, and some of the individuals stating that they have
registered Indian status do not identify any group. Again, some adjustments are needed to obtain
reliable data. The report Projections of the Aboriginal Populations by Statistics Canada,
mentioned earlier, adjusts the data for the 6,700 persons who indicated belonging to more than
one group, and the 23,400 persons who did not self-identify as Aboriginal Canadians, but were
counted as Registered Indians or member of an Indian Band. In 2001, there were 713,100 North
American Indians (66.9 per cent of total Aboriginal population), 305,800 Metis (28.7 per cent),
and 47,600 Inuits (4.5 per cent).
Table 2: Characteristics of the Aboriginal Population by Province, 2001
|
Proportion of the |
Proportion of the |
Incidence of the | |
|
Canada_________ |
100.0 |
100.0 |
3.4 |
|
Atlantic |
7.5 |
5.4 |
2.4 |
|
Quebec |
23.8 |
9.0 |
1.3 |
|
Ontario___________ |
___________38.4_________ |
__________20.1_________ |
____________1.8___________ |
|
Western Canada |
29.9 |
60.6 |
7.0 |
|
Manitoba |
3.7 |
14.9 |
13.8 |
|
Saskatchewan |
3.2 |
13.0 |
13.8 |
|
Alberta |
9.9 |
15.7 |
5.5 |
|
British Columbia |
____________13.1__________ |
__________17.0_________ |
___________4.4__________ |
|
Territories |
0.3 |
4.8 |
52.0 |
|
Yukon |
0.1 |
0.7 |
23.9 |
|
NWT |
0.1 |
1.9 |
50.5 |
|
Nunavut |
0.1 |
2.2 |
84.3 |
Source: Statistics Canada (2005a), 2001 Census of Population Adjusted Counts (July 1st).
12 However, in the remainder of the report, when breakdowns by educational attainment of the Aboriginal are used,
the data from the Census 2001 Public Use Micro-data Files were used. Note that no absolute numbers will be used
from the Public Use Micro-Data Files, but only shares of the total and growth rates. To the degree that non-
enumerated reserves have the same characteristics as other reserves, this measure‘s underestimation is of little
importance as it will not affect ratios or growth rates.