According to 2016 census data, the Yukon’s Aboriginal population has grown at a lower rate than seen at the national level.

Meanwhile, other trends in the territory’s population are more in line with Canada-wide statistics.

Today, Statistics Canada made available new information related to Aboriginal peoples from last year’s census.

According to a press release, a key trend in the Aboriginal people’s data is the continued growth of Canada’s Aboriginal population.

It defines that population as consisting of individuals who identify as First Nations, Metis, Inuk and/or those registered under the Indian Act of Canada and/or those with membership in a First Nation or Indian band. The census shows that growth in the Aboriginal population far exceeds that of Canada’s non-Aboriginal population.

“But in Yukon, it was different,” Statistics Canada analyst Vivian O’Donnell told the Star this morning.

Canada’s Aboriginal population increased by 42.5 per cent between 2006 and 2016 – a rate more than four times that of the country’s non-Aboriginal population.

However, the Yukon’s has only risen by 8.7 per cent, a rate far lower than that for its non-Aboriginal population, which grew by 20.6 per cent in the same 10 year period.

Aboriginal population growth at the national level is attributed to natural factors like high fertility and increased life expectancy, as well as people newly identifying as Aboriginal, O’Donnell explained.

This often occurs after legislative changes that affect eligibility for registered Indian status, she noted.

Major factor

Newly identifying Aboriginals are a major factor in this population’s growth in regions like Atlantic Canada and Quebec.

O’Donnell said she doesn’t think it’s “a phenomenon that’s happening in the Yukon,” but she said it’s difficult to pinpoint an exact reason for this based on census data.

A trend observed at the national level that is reflected in the Yukon’s Aboriginal population is tied to language.

Among Yukon First Nations people, 11 per cent identified as having an Aboriginal mother tongue – that is, the language they were first taught at home in childhood and can still understand – while 16 per cent identified as being able to speak an Aboriginal language.

“That’s sort of an indication that people are learning an Aboriginal language as a second language,” O’Donnell explained.

More than 70 Aboriginal languages across Canada were captured in the census data.

A third trend worth noting is the proportion of Aboriginal people in the Yukon living in dwellings in need of major repairs.

“On the census, we ask about your house, whether you just need regular maintenance like painting, minor repairs, you have a shingle missing, or a floor tile missing.

“But major repairs would be structural problems or needing electrical wiring or plumbing. So it’s an indication of housing quality,” O’Donnell said.

In the territory, more than 20 per cent of Aboriginal people were living in a home in need of major repairs compared to 8.5 per cent of the non-Aboriginal population.

These percentages are similar to those at the national level where 19 per cent and six per cent of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people respectively are living in such homes.

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