The name is absent

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potential contribution of Aboriginal Canadians is staggering (266.4 per cent). In the Territories,
where, just like Saskatchewan, the non-Aboriginal working age population is projected to
decrease, Aboriginal Canadians also have the potential to greatly alter the labour market. If the
employment rate of the general population remains constant, the economy is only projected to
have an increase of 8,993 individuals between 2001 and 2017. However, under Scenario 3, the
Aboriginal population can potentially contribute an additional 18,132 individuals to the number
of employed. Thus, the potential contribution of Aboriginals to the change in the number of
employed between 2001 and 2017 in the Territories is 201.6 per cent.

In Manitoba, where Aboriginals are projected to make up 15 per cent of the working age
population, under Scenario 3, the potential contribution of Aboriginals to the number of
employed individuals is 52.7 per cent. Quebec and Ontario will be least affected by any changes
in the employment rates of Aboriginal Canadians. If parity were to be achieved the aboriginal
population would only contribute 1.9 per cent and 2.5 per cent respectively to the change in the
total number of employed between 2001 and 2017. However, when one considers the fact that
Aboriginal Canadians make up only 1.3 per cent in Quebec and 1.8 per cent in Ontario of the
total population, the potential contribution of the Aboriginal population is still important.

C. Aboriginal Labour Market Development in Western Canada, 2001-2005

In 2005, Statistics Canada added a question about Aboriginal identity to the Labour Force
Survey conducted in Western Canada. These estimates provide more up-to-date information
about Aboriginal labour market performance in Western Canada than available in the 2001
census. These new estimates shed light on labour market outcomes for Aboriginal Canadians
over the 2001-2005 period, at least for Western Canada. Overall, they show significant
improvement over 2001.

The participation rate of off-reserve Aboriginals increased relative to that of the non-
Aboriginal population since 2001. The off-reserve Aboriginal participation rate increased by two
percentage points between 2001 and 2005 (66.4 per cent in 2005 up from 64.4 per cent in 2001),
while the non-Aboriginal participation rate only increased by 0.3 percentage points (68.7 per
cent in 2005 up from 68.4 per cent in 2001). This resulted in a large decrease of the off-reserve
Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal participation rate gap of 1.7 percentage points (Table 20).

Table 20: Off-reserve Aboriginal Labour Force Outcomes, Western Canada, 2001 and 2005

Source: Luffman and Sussman (2007)

The off-reserve unemployment rate also fell during the 2001-2005 period, from 15.5 per
cent in 2001 to 12.1 per cent in 2005. This 3.4 percentage point decrease was much large than

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