Census Statistical Profiles of Aboriginal Peoples

2006 Census

Aboriginal, First Nations, Métis, Status Indians

2001 Census

Aboriginal compared to non-Aboriginal population

1996 Census

Aboriginal compared to non-Aboriginal population

Cautionary Note

There were very large increases in the number of persons identifying as Aboriginal peoples between the Censuses, an increase well above what would be expected from natural increase. The explanation of why the growth is so high is that the willingness of Aboriginal people to identify has been increasing over time, particularly among those over 35 years of age and the Métis.

Therefore any comparisons made between Censuses of the characteristics of Aboriginal people, such as their unemployment rates or educational attainment, should be done with caution as change may be due primarily to the difference in who identified between the two periods.

	Population			% Chg.	% Chg.
British Columbia	2006 Total	2001 Total	1996 Total	2001 -2006	1996 -2001

Aboriginal	196,075	170,020	139,655	15.3	21.7
North American Indian	129,580	118,290	107,375	9.5	10.2
Métis	59,445	44,265	25,575	34.5	73.1
Other	7,055	7,470	6,705	-5.6	11.4
Non-Aboriginal	3,878,310	3,698,850	3,550,100	4.9	4.2

More information is available on cautions and comparibility.

Statistics Canada information is used with the permission of Statistics Canada. Users are forbidden to copy the data and redisseminate them, in an original or modified form, for commercial purposes, without the expressed permission of Statistics Canada. Information on the availability of a wide range of data from Statistics Canada can be obtained from Statistics Canada's Regional Offices, the Statistics Canada website, and its toll-free access number 1-800-263-1136.

Sponsors

Funding for these profiles was made possible through the Labour Market Information initiative under the Canada-British Columbia Labour Market Agreement (LMA), which is administered for B.C. by the Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development.