per cent compared to 42.2 per cent in 2001. The participation rate of Aboriginal Canadians with
a high school diploma or above was actually almost the same as that of non-Aboriginal
Canadians with the same level of educational attainment in 2001 (75.5 per cent).
The employment rate was much lower for the Aboriginal population than for other
Canadians. In 2001, the Aboriginal rate was 12.3 percentage points lower than the non-
Aboriginal rate. This rate was lower for Aboriginal individuals in each educational category
except one: those with a bachelor‘s degree, for which it was equal with non-Aboriginals at 78.3
per cent. Not surprisingly, people who complete high school enjoy better employment rates than
those who do not by a large margin. Among Aboriginals who completed high school or above,
the employment rate was 65.2 per cent while it was only 32.5 per cent for those who did not
finish.
Since 1996, Aboriginal employment rates have increased and the gap between Aboriginal
and non-Aboriginal populations has decreased by 2.7 points. If Aboriginal Canadians had in
2001 the same educational profile as non-Aboriginal Canadians, their employment rate would
have been 7.1 percentage points higher at 56.7 per cent. This means that 57.9 per cent of the
2001 gap in employment rate between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations was due to
differences in educational attainment. This follows in large part from the fact that increased
educational attainment increases participation in the labour force and also from the fact that
increased educational attainment increases the likelihood of finding employment.
Aboriginal Canadians fare worse than non-Aboriginal Canadians on many other
indicators of well-being. For example, in Canadian Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs), the
poverty rate of the Aboriginal population in 2001 was 41.6 per cent, compared to 17.3 for the
general population. The Aboriginal population was also represented at a much higher share in
prisons (17 per cent of total prison population) than in the Canadian population. Finally,
Aboriginal Canadians have poorer health than non-Aboriginal Canadians and they are at higher
risk of developing diabetes and tuberculosis as well as having a much higher suicide rate.
Population and Labour Market Projections
This section reviews population projection for the general population and the Aboriginal
population both provided by Statistics Canada as well as economic projections provided by the
Institute for Policy Analysis of the University of Toronto. The scenario used in the report for the
general population is the medium growth scenario from Statistics Canada. In this scenario, the
fertility rate is set at the 2002 level of 1.51 children per woman and Canadians are expected to
experience a steady increase in life expectancy. The scenario retained for projecting the
Aboriginal population is also the medium growth scenario from Statistics Canada (Scenario B)
which assumes a slow decline in fertility rate, and a slightly smaller increase in life expectancy
than for other Canadians.
The total population in Canada in 2017 is projected to be 35,538,000, up 14.7 per cent
from 2001, out of which 30,054,000 will be aged 15 and over, a 23.8 per cent increase over
2001. The growth rate of the labour force should decrease over the 2001-2017 period, mainly
due to the aging of the population.