Aboriginal Conditions in Census Metropolitan Areas, 1981-2001

This report examines the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the Aboriginal population living in 11 metropolitan centres in 1981 and 2001. It studies the size, age and mobility of the population; the family structure of Aboriginal people; school participation and educational attainment; and the labour market characteristics and transfer dependence of Aboriginal people. It finds that Aboriginal people living in the nation's largest metropolitan centres were faring better overall in 2001 than they were two decades earlier. Nevertheless, these Aboriginal urban dwellers still faced many challenges, especially those in living in urban centres in the western provinces, where large gaps remained with their non-Aboriginal counterparts. The report examines the Aboriginal identity population, which refers to those persons who identified with at least one Aboriginal group, that is, North American Indian, Metis or Inuit. The concept of identity allows for historical comparability with the concept used in the 1981 Census to discuss changes over time. Data came from the censuses of 1981, 1996 and 2001, as well as the 2001 Aboriginal Peoples Survey. The metropolitan areas examined include Montreal, Ottawa-Hull (now known as Ottawa-Gatineau), Toronto, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.