• The Aboriginal population is much younger than the average Canadian, with a median
age in 2001 of only 24.7 years, compared to 37.6 years for non-Aboriginal Canadians.
• Aboriginal Canadians aged 15 and over have a much lower educational attainment
than their non-Aboriginal counterparts with only 52.2 per cent holding a high school
diploma in 2001, compared to 69.1 per cent for other Canadians.
• The labour market outcomes for Aboriginal Canadians are significantly inferior to the
Canadian average. In 2001, Aboriginal Canadians had lower employment income, a
higher unemployment rate, a lower participation rate, and a lower employment rate.
• Slightly under half (47.3 per cent) of the 2001 employment income gap, or $3,247 per
person, between Aboriginal Canadians and non-Aboriginal Canadian in 2001 can be
attributed directly to differences in educational attainment.
• In 2001, if Aboriginal Canadians had the same educational profile of that of non-
Aboriginal Canadians, their participation rate would have been 67.7 per cent instead of
61.4 per cent, higher than the 66.6 per cent of non-Aboriginal Canadians. This higher
participation rate reflects the younger age structure of the Aboriginal population. This
suggests that the rest of the employment income gap (52.7 per cent) noted above is due
to a lack of employment opportunities rather than a lack of desire to participate in the
labour market.
• Aboriginals with a high school diploma or higher had significantly better labour
market outcomes, both in absolute terms and relative to non-Aboriginal Canadians
than those who did not.
• In 2017, using the medium growth projection for Aboriginal and the General
population, the Aboriginal population is projected to make up 4.0 per cent of the
Canadian population.
• Aboriginal Canadians are projected to account for 29.8 per cent of the annual natural
population increase (births minus deaths) in Canada over the 2011-2017 period.
• The potential contribution of Aboriginal Canadians to the total growth of the labour
force between 2001 and 2017 is projected to be up to 7.4 per cent.
• If Aboriginal Canadians were, by 2017, able to increase their level of educational
attainment to the level of non-Aboriginal Canadians in 2001, the average annual GDP
growth rate in Canada would be up to 0.036 percentage point higher, or an additional
cumulative $71 billion (2001 dollars) over the 2001-2017 period.
• If, in addition, the Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal employment rate gap and employment
income gap at the same level of educational attainment were eliminated, the potential
contribution of Aboriginal Canadians to Canadian GDP over the 2001-2017 would
increase to $160 billion, or up to a 0.081 percentage point increase in annual average
output growth rate. This potential, however, is unlikely to be fully realized in such a
short period of time since older Aboriginal Canadians are not likely to go back to
school and reach the 2001 level of non-Aboriginal Canadians by 2017. Still, these
estimates show the potential gain that could be realized.