RuRal Development InstItute
Aboriginal Population
1
July 2014
www.brandonu.ca/rdi/
HigHligHts• In2011,thenumberofManitobaresidentsidentifyingasAboriginalwas195,895.
• Thisrepresents17%ofManitoba’stotalpopulation.Thisshareishigherthaninanyotherprovince,butlowerthaninthenorthernterritories.
• Thelargestgroupthatself-identifiedwasFirstNationswithapopulationof114,230.Withinthisgroup,27%residedintheWinnipegCMAand73%residedinnon-metroareas.
• InManitoba’s4northernCDs,theshareofthepopulationwithanAboriginalidentityrangedfrom51%inCD#21(includesFlinFlonandThePas)to95%inCD#19(includesBerensRiver).
Bollman, Ray D., & Ashton, W. Rural Development institute, Brandon University, Brandon, Manitoba, July, 2014.
WHy ABoRiginAl popUlAtion?
In2011,theAboriginalidentitypopulationinManitobawas196thousand(17%ofManitoba’stotalpopulation).AboriginalshaveahigherbirthrateandtheirshareofManitoba’spopulationisexpectedtoincrease.
TheobjectiveofthisFactsheetistodocumenttheshareofManitoba’sruralpopulationwithanAboriginalIdentity.
The2011NationalHouseholdSurveyusedaseriesofquestionstodeterminetheportionofthepopulationidentifiesasAboriginal.Thedataarenotcomparableovertimeastheindividualsinsomegroups,especiallytheMétis,havebecomemorelikelytoreporttheirMétisheritageinrecentcensusperiods.
FinDings
In2011,theAboriginalidentitypopulationinManitobawas195,895(Table1).Withinmetroareas(i.e.theWinnipegCMA),11%identifiedasAboriginalwhiletheshareinnon-metroareaswas26%.
table 1.
1.‘Aboriginalidentity’referstowhetherthepersonreportedbeinganAboriginalperson,thatis,FirstNations(NorthAmericanIndian),MétisorInuk(Inuit)and/orbeingaRegisteredorTreatyIndian(thatis,registeredundertheIndianActofCanada)and/orbeingamemberofaFirstNationorIndianband.AboriginalpeoplesofCanadaaredefinedintheConstitutionAct,1982,section35(2)asincludingtheIndian,InuitandMétispeoplesofCanada.Aboriginalidentityisderivedfromdatacollectedinthreequestions:Aboriginalgroup(Question18);RegisteredorTreatyIndianstatus(Question20);andMembershipinaFirstNationorIndianband(Question21).InQuestion18,respondentscouldrespond‘Yes,FirstNations(NorthAmericanIndian),’‘Yes,Métis,’‘Yes,Inuk(Inuit)’or‘No,notanAboriginalperson’bycheckingofftheappropriatemark-incircle.InQuestion20,respondentscouldrespond‘No’or‘Yes,StatusIndian(RegisteredorTreaty).’InQuestion21,respondentscouldrespond‘No’or‘Yes,memberofaFirstNation/Indianband’.(Source:StatisticsCanada.(2013)2011NationalHouseholdSurveyDictionary(Ottawa:StatisticsCanada,Catalogueno.99-000)(http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/ref/dict/index-eng.cfm).
RuRal Development InstItute
Bollman, Ray D., & Ashton, W. Rural Development institute, Brandon University, Brandon, Manitoba, July, 2014. 2
InNoMIZareas(i.e.areaswithnoinfluencefromaCMAorCA),theportionofthepopulationidentifyingasAboriginalconstituted54%ofthetotalpopulation.
In2011,114,230AboriginalsstatedFirstNationsastheirsingleAboriginalidentity.Withinthisgroup,27%wereresidingintheWinnipegCMAand73%wereresidinginnon-metroManitoba.
ThesecondlargestgroupwasMétiswitha2011populationof78,830.AmongtheMétis,overone-half(59%)wereresidingintheWinnipegCMA.
ToseewhereAboriginalsareresidingacrossManitoba,wereviewthecensusdivision(CD)ofresidenceofthepopulationidentifyingasAboriginal(Table2).
In2011,thepopulationidentifyingasAboriginalofCD#11(Winnipeg)was72,475andthisrepresented11%ofthepopulationinthisCD.ThisCDiscomprisedoftheCityofWinnipegplustheR.M.ofHeadingly.ThisCDiswhollywithintheWinnipegCMAandisclassifiedasa“metrocensusdivision.”
AroundWinnipegthereare5CDsclassifiedaspartially-non-metroCDsaspartofeachCDisclassifiedwithintheWinnipegCMAandotherpartsareoutsidetheWinnipegCMA.ThepopulationidentifyingasAboriginalintheseCDswas19,060in2011andrepresented12%oftheirpopulation.
InManitoba’snon-metroCDs,thepopulationidentifyingasAboriginalwas104,350,whichrepresented29%ofthetotalpopulationofnon-metroCDs.
Therewere4CDswherethepopulationidentifyingasAboriginalwasoverone-halfofthetotalpopulation:
• 95%inCD#19(includesBerensRiver);• 79%inCD#23(includesChurchill);• 77%inCD#22(includesThompson);and•51%inCD#21(includesFlinFlonandThePas).Therewereanother5non-metroCDswheretheAboriginalidentitypopulationrepresented24%ormoreofthetotalpopulation(Table2).
CoMpARison to CAnADA
TheshareofManitoba’spopulationpopulationidentifyingasAboriginal(17%)ishigherthaninanyotherprovince,butlowerthaninthenorthernterritories(Table3).InSaskatchewan,16%ofthe
populationidentifyingasAboriginal.
Inabsolutenumbers,thepopulationidentifyingasAboriginalislargerinOntario(301thousand),BritishColumbia(232thousand)andAlberta(221thousand).Manitobaranks4thwith196thousandindividualswithanAboriginalIdentity.
InbothManitobaandinNewfoundlandandLabrador,25%ormoreoftheAboriginalIdentitypopulationresidesinruralnorthernregions.
sUMMARy
In2011,thenumberofManitobaresidentsidentifyingasAboriginalwas195,895.Thisrepresented17%ofManitoba’stotalpopulation.
ThelargestgroupwasFirstNationswithapopulationof114,230.Withinthisgroup,27%residedintheWinnipegCMAand73%residedinnon-metroareas.
InManitoba’s4northernCDs,theshareofthepopulationidentifyingasAboriginalrangedfrom51%inCD#21(includesFlinFlonandThePas)to95%inCD#19(includesBerensRiver).
FURtHER REsEARCH QUEstions
• Whateffectdoeschangingresponseratesindifferentareashaveoncensusdata?
Funding for this project was provided by the Manitoba government.
this series of Fact sheets are available for download at http://www.brandonu.ca/rdi/25th/ 3
RuRal Development InstItute
table 2.
Source:StatisticsCanada.NationalHouseholdSurvey,2011