Percentage of all children 0 to 4 years who are First Nations, Métis and Inuit, Canada and by province and territory, 2016

Note: Excludes census data for one or more incompletely enumerated Indian reserves or Indian settlements.
Source: CICH graphic created using data adapted from Statistics Canada – 2016 Census. Catalogue Number 98-400-X2016155.
http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/dt-td/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=110588&PRID=10&PTYPE=109445&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2017&THEME=122&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= – Accessed December 23, 2017.

In 2016, there were 145,645 Indigenous children under 5 years of age living in Canada. In fact, Indigenous children under age 5 accounted for 7.7% of all children under age 5 living in Canada. Of the total population of Indigenous children under age 5, 65%, were First Nations; 30% were Métis; and 5% were Inuit.

In Manitoba, almost 20% of children under 5 years of age were First Nations and 9.3% were Métis.

In Saskatchewan, 19% of children under 5 years of age were First Nations and 7.2% were Métis.

In Nunavut, 92% of children under age 5 were Inuit.  In the Yukon, 21% of children under 5 years of age were First Nations and 35% of Northwest Territories children under 5 years of age were First Nations.

Implications

The population of Indigenous children is not spread evenly across Canada as some Canadian provinces/territories have significantly higher proportions of Indigenous peoples.  Addressing the socio-economic inequities and health disparities of Indigenous children, especially in provinces/territories with high proportions of Indigenous children (the Western provinces and in the three territories), has considerable potential to not only strengthen Indigenous families and communities, but also the economic potential of the provinces/territories in which they reside.