Canada at a Glance, 2023
Indigenous Peoples
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.
Data table for Chart 11
| Province or territory | First Nations people with Registered or Treaty Indian status | |
|---|---|---|
| percent | number of people | |
| British Columbia | 39 | 125,105 |
| Alberta | 36 | 115,020 |
| Saskatchewan | 48 | 110,910 |
| Manitoba | 49 | 121,415 |
| Ontario | 32 | 151,550 |
| Quebec | 57 | 61,810 |
| New Brunswick | 56 | 13,555 |
| Nova Scotia | 59 | 15,955 |
| Prince Edward Island | 41 | 1,235 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 13 | 19,080 |
| Yukon | 0 | 5,835 |
| Northwest Territories | 2 | 11,565 |
| Nunavut | 0 | 70 |
|
Notes: Residence on or off reserve refers to whether the person's usual place of residence is in a census subdivision (CSD) that is defined as "on-reserve" or "off-reserve." The definition of residence on reserve includes some CSDs for which First Nations have signed a modern treaty or a self-government agreement that provides them land ownership. However, most First Nations in the Northwest Territories and the Yukon have signed modern treaties, but their administered lands are not included in the definition of residence on reserve. A total of 63 reserves were incompletely enumerated in 2021. Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021. |
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Data table for Chart 12
| Province or territory | Number of people |
|---|---|
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 7,330 |
| Prince Edward Island | 840 |
| Nova Scotia | 21,090 |
| New Brunswick | 10,165 |
| Quebec | 61,015 |
| Ontario | 134,615 |
| Manitoba | 96,730 |
| Saskatchewan | 62,800 |
| Alberta | 127,475 |
| British Columbia | 97,865 |
| Yukon | 1,285 |
| Northwest Territories | 2,890 |
| Nunavut | 115 |
| Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021. | |
Data table for Chart 13
| Inuit Nunangat region | Number of people |
|---|---|
| Inuvialuit region | 3,145 |
| Nunavut | 30,865 |
| Nunavik | 12,590 |
| Nunatsiavut | 2,095 |
| Outside Inuit Nunangat | 21,825 |
| Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021. | |
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 Peoples. 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.
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.
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