Executive Summary
The Potential Contribution of Aboriginal Canadians to Labour Force, Employment,
Productivity and Output Growth in Canada, 2001-2017
Two salient facts stand out about Aboriginal Canadians. First, relative to all other groups,
they are disadvantaged both economically and socially. Second, their level of educational
attainment is well below the national average. Equally, Canada currently faces two major
economic challenges: reviving our lackluster rate of labour productivity growth and dealing with
slower labour force growth. In this context, the rationale for assisting Aboriginal peoples
increase their educational attainment, especially the high school completion rate and the
university completion rate, is twofold: (i) it reduces poverty and increases economic well-being
among the Aboriginal population and (ii) it contributes to greater employment and productivity
growth in this country. This report assesses that potential contribution of the Aboriginal
population to the Canadian labour market and therefore to output and productivity, assuming
they increase their average educational attainment.
The report is divided into seven main sections. After a brief discussion of the motivation
for and the methodology of the report, the second section reviews the importance of education
for an improvement in labour market outcomes, income and other social indicators. The next
section draws a portrait of the Aboriginal population, and of the possible improvements they
need to achieve to reach the level of the non-Aboriginal population. The fourth section discusses
the population projection scenarios for 2017, both for the Aboriginal and overall populations,
noting that Aboriginal women have a much higher fertility rate than non-Aboriginal women.
With these data, the fifth section projects the contribution of the Aboriginal population to the
labour market in 2017 under different assumptions for participation rates and employment rates.
The sixth and most important section provides projections of income for Aboriginals in 2017 and
its implications for Canadian output and productivity given different levels of increase in
Aboriginal educational attainment. Finally, the seventh section highlights four important
contributions which capture the most important policy-relevant questions related to the
improvement of the educational attainment of the aboriginal population.
It is beyond the scope of this report to address the crucial question of what measures and
actions are needed by all actors (governments, Aboriginal communities, educational institutions,
the private sector, and others) to raise the educational attainment of Aboriginal Canadians and
eliminate the gap with non-Aboriginal Canadians. Without the realization of this goal, of course,
the projections in this report have little value.
Key Highlights
• In 2001, the Aboriginal identity population made up 3.4 per cent of the Canadian
population, with 1,066,500 persons.
• In 2001, 352,000 Aboriginal Canadians, about a third of the Aboriginal population,
lived on reserves. Of that number, 97 per cent, or 341,300 persons, were North
American Indians.