Indigenous peoples economic account, 2012 to 2021
Released: 2024-04-02
Preliminary estimates of the Indigenous economy, defined as gross domestic income (GDI) earned by Indigenous workers and Indigenous-led businesses (where 50% +1 of the owners identify as Indigenous), along with data on jobs held by Indigenous people, have been updated with this current release of the Indigenous Peoples Economic Account (IPEA). This latest iteration incorporates information from the 2021 Census of Population (including estimates for 2012 to 2021), and follows a previous inaugural release.
Gross domestic income earned by Indigenous people rises in 2021
GDI, also known as income-based gross domestic product (GDP), earned by Indigenous people (Indigenous GDI) was estimated at $56.1 billion in 2021, an increase of 10.0% from 2020. This represented 2.4% of total Canadian GDI generated in 2021. Over the past decade, Indigenous GDI increased by 57.6%, outpacing growth in the total economy (+37.6%).
Chart 1
Indigenous gross domestic income, Canada
A closer look at Indigenous GDI by sector shows that growth in 2021 was widespread, with increases in public administration (+9.0%), construction (+14.0%), and educational services (+13.6%) making the largest contributions to overall growth.
Jobs rebound following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic
Approximately 848,000 jobs in Canada were held by Indigenous people in 2021, an increase of 8.0% from the previous year. This followed a decrease from 2019 to 2020 (-8.2%), which coincided with the onset of the pandemic. Approximately 4.4% of jobs in Canada were held by Indigenous people in 2021. The highest proportions of jobs held by Indigenous people were in public administration (16.4%), health care and social assistance (13.9%) and retail trade (10.3%).
Gross domestic income and job growth in all provinces and territories in 2021
All provinces and territories recorded growth in Indigenous GDI in 2021. Prince Edward Island saw the largest growth in Indigenous GDI (+12.7%), followed by British Columbia (+12.6%) and the Northwest Territories (+12.4%). The lowest growth rates were seen in Saskatchewan (+6.1%), Manitoba (+7.6%) and New Brunswick (+7.8%).
In 2021, the proportion of total GDI earned by Indigenous workers and Indigenous-led businesses ranged from 1.2% in Prince Edward Island to 25.9% in Nunavut.
Growth in the number of jobs held by Indigenous people was also widespread in 2021, ranging from 4.9% in Saskatchewan to 9.7% in British Columbia.
Map 1
Indigenous gross domestic income as a proportion of overall provincial, territorial and national gross domestic income in 2021
Atlantic region: Newfoundland and Labrador lead in Indigenous gross domestic income, while Nova Scotia leads in jobs
In 2021, GDI earned by Indigenous people in Newfoundland and Labrador increased 9.9% to reach $1.5 billion. The province had the largest proportion of Indigenous GDI of all Atlantic provinces, at 4.4%. The share of Indigenous GDI in the mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction sector increased the most from 2012 to 2021 to reach 9.5% of Indigenous GDI in the province.
Indigenous GDI in Prince Edward Island grew 12.7% in 2021, reaching $96.0 million. This was the largest increase among the provinces and territories. The province had the lowest share of Indigenous GDI in Canada, at 1.2%.
Nova Scotia saw Indigenous GDI increase by 11.9% in 2021, to reach $1.5 billion. Jobs held by Indigenous people increased 9.1% in 2021, reaching 24,810. The province had the largest number of jobs held by Indigenous people in the Atlantic region, with just over one-fifth being held in the public administration sector.
Indigenous GDI in New Brunswick reached $818.7 million in 2021, a 7.8% increase from the previous year. Since 2012, Indigenous GDI in the province has increased by 76.0%. The share of Indigenous GDI attributable to the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting sector increased the most over the last decade, reaching 5.8% of Indigenous GDI in the province in 2021.
Quebec and Ontario: Nearly one-quarter of Indigenous gross domestic income was earned in Ontario
In 2021, GDI earned by Indigenous people in Quebec increased 11.2% and represented 1.4% of GDI in the province. The largest proportions of Indigenous GDI were seen in the public administration (19.8%) and the healthcare and social assistance (11.6%) sectors.
Indigenous GDI in Ontario represented nearly one-quarter of the total GDI earned by all Indigenous people in Canada, reaching $13.3 billion in 2021. Jobs held by Indigenous people in the province grew 8.7% in 2021, reaching 203,295, more than double the number of jobs held by Indigenous people in Quebec (99,920).
Western Region: Manitoba leads provinces for proportion of Indigenous gross domestic income
In 2021, GDI earned by Indigenous people in Manitoba increased 7.6%. Manitoba was the province with the largest proportion of Indigenous GDI relative to their overall GDI at 7.8%. Jobs held by Indigenous people in Manitoba increased 5.6%, reaching 101,470.
Indigenous GDI in Saskatchewan increased by 6.1% to reach $4.3 billion in 2021, representing 5.2% of total GDI in the province. The share of Indigenous GDI attributable to the health care and social assistance as well as the educational services sectors increased the most over the last decade, reaching 12.7% of Indigenous GDI (for health care and social assistance) and 10.3% (for educational services) in the province in 2021.
In 2021, GDI earned by Indigenous people in Alberta increased 10.6%, reaching $9.8 billion. The construction (15.7%) and mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction (14.8%) sectors contributed the most to growth during the year. The province also had the largest Indigenous GDI of all Western provinces during the period from 2012 to 2021.
Indigenous GDI in British Columbia increased by 12.6% in 2021, reaching $9.7 billion. Jobs held by Indigenous people in the province grew 9.7% in 2021 to reach 147,380. The province had the largest number of jobs held by Indigenous people of all Western provinces in 2021.
The territories lead the country in proportion of Indigenous gross domestic income
In 2021, GDI earned by Indigenous people in Yukon increased 10.5%. Since 2012, Indigenous GDI in the territory grew 52.8%, from $311.1 million to $475.5 million, representing 13.8% of total GDI for the territory in 2021.
Indigenous GDI in the Northwest Territories grew 12.4% in 2021 to reach $1.0 billion, representing more than one-fifth (21.9%) of total GDI for the territory. Approximately one-quarter of Indigenous GDI in the territory was earned in the public administration sector.
Nunavut saw Indigenous GDI increase by 9.4% in 2021 to reach $1.2 billion. This represented 25.9% of the territory's total GDI, the highest proportion of all provinces and territories. Jobs held by Indigenous people increased 9.1% in 2021, reaching 14,270. This was the largest number of jobs held by Indigenous people in the territories, followed by the Northwest Territories (12,490) and Yukon (6,435).
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Note to readers
The Indigenous Peoples Economic Account data for 2021 have been released along with updated data from 2012 to 2020.
The Indigenous economy is defined as gross domestic income (GDI) earned by Indigenous workers and Indigenous led businesses (where at least 50% of the owners identify as Indigenous). The main data source for Indigenous workers is the Human Resources Module, which is linked to both the Census of Population and the system of national accounts estimates of jobs and wages. The main source for Indigenous-led businesses is the Canadian Employer-Employee Dynamics Database which has been linked to the Census of Population.
GDI is defined as the incomes generated by economic activity in the form of employee compensation and business incomes. It is often referred to as income-based gross domestic product (GDP); however, taxes less subsidies on products and imports, are not included as part of Indigenous GDI. As such, all comparisons with the total economy are done at basic prices rather than market prices as presented in the Canadian Income and Expenditure Accounts.
Statistics Canada acknowledges that other approaches might have resulted in different estimates. For example, when estimating the business income component of GDI, the current approach only considers businesses that are majority-owned (i.e., 50% +1) by people identifying as Indigenous. Defining Indigenous-owned businesses differently, such as any businesses where at least one owner identified as Indigenous, would produce different results. However, given the current availability of data, this approach was considered the most appropriate. As new data become available, the choice of methodology may be altered, or the existing methodology could be refined.
Additional information on the methodologies used to construct the Economic Indicators and Human Resource Module estimates can be found in the article "Indigenous Peoples Economic Account: Methodology and Preliminary Results," which is part of the publication Income and Expenditure Accounts Technical Series (13-604-M).
Products
The article, "Indigenous Peoples Economic Account: Methodology and Preliminary Results," which is part of the Income and Expenditure Accounts Technical Series (13-604-M), is now available.
The Economic accounts statistics portal, accessible from the Subjects module of the Statistics Canada website, features an up-to-date portrait of national and provincial economies and their structure.
The Latest Developments in the Canadian Economic Accounts (13-605-X) is available.
The User Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (13-606-G) is available.
The Methodological Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (13-607-X) is available.
Contact information
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