children (which fell from 35.1 percent of the total Aboriginal identity population in 1996 to 33 percent in 2001) to the working age population (which rose from 61.4 percent to 62.8 percent, respectively). The identity groups have only slightly different age distributions, as can be seen in Figure 10. The MĂŠtis population is slightly older and the Inuit population slightly younger, with the North American Indian population in between. As might be expected, the distribution of area of residence of the working age Aboriginal identity population is close to that of the Aboriginal identity population as a whole. However, there is a slightly larger presence of the working age population in large urban centres and a commensurate smaller percentage on reserve, as shown in Figure 11. This is a not unexpected consequence of working age people going to where there are jobs.
Figure 12 shows the numerical change in the Aboriginal identity working age population from 1996 to 2001 in each province, and Figure 13 gives the percentage change. The biggest increases in absolute numbers were in Ontario and all the western provinces, with Ontario leading the provinces. The biggest percentage changes, however, were in New Brunswick and the other Atlantic provinces – although these still have relatively small Aboriginal identity working age populations. The demographics of the working age population are otherwise more or less the same as those for the total Aboriginal identity population, so we need not elaborate them here. Because of its strong relationship to labour markets, we are especially interested in the education of the Aboriginal identity population. Table 6 compares educational attainment in 2001 for the Aboriginal identity
Caledon Institute of Social Policy
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