Canada at a Glance, 2022
Indigenous People

Did you know?^Note

• In 2021, there were 1,048,405 First Nations people living in Canada, marking the first time that the First Nations population surpassed the one-million mark in a census.
• Almost three-quarters (71.8%) of First Nations people had Registered or Treaty Indian status under the Indian Act, while 28.2% did not.
• There were 624,220 Métis living in Canada in 2021, with 224,655 people reporting registered membership in a Métis organization or Settlement. Four-fifths (79.8%) reported being a member of one of the five signatories of the Canada-Métis Nation Accord (2017).
• In 2021, 70,545 Inuit were living in Canada. Of that population, 80.6% reported that they were enrolled under or were a beneficiary of an Inuit Land Claims Agreement.

Statistics Canada data on Indigenous peoples… in brief

Statistics Canada uses two main sources to publish data on Indigenous peoples: the Census of Population, conducted every five years, and the Indigenous Peoples Survey (IPS), conducted in the year following each Census of Population. The success of the 2021 Census would not have been possible without the involvement of Indigenous people. Thanks to their participation, high-quality data are available for Indigenous communities across the country. It is through this collaboration that we can better understand the realities experienced by First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities.

Data from the 2022 IPS will be released in 2024. We thank all the Indigenous communities we work in partnership with, and all those involved in this research.

To learn more
Statistics on Indigenous peoples (statcan.gc.ca).