Winnipeg home to largest First Nation, Métis population

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This article was published 08/05/2013 (4545 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA – Winnipeg is home to the highest number of status First Nations people and Métis Canadians of any other city in the country, the new National Household Survey showed today.

The survey replaces the former mandatory long-form census which the federal government decided to do away with saying it was too invasive. Statistics Canada warns some of the data may be difficult to compare to previous censuses because the methodology and response rates are different.

The NHS showed status 25,970 First Nations people live in Winnipeg, more than in any other city. They make up about 3.6 per cent of the population.

There are 46,325 Métis living in Winnipeg, accounting for 6.5 per cent of the city’s population.

Provincially the First Nations population grew 22.9 per cent between 2006 and 2011, and the Métis population grew 16.3 per cent.

Across the province, aboriginal people account for 16.7 per cent of Manitoba’s population, up from 15 per cent in 2006. That is the highest proportion of any province, with 10 per cent of the province’s population being First Nations and 6.7 per cent being Métis. Saskatchewan’s aboriginal population is 15.6 per cent, second to Manitoba.

Manitoba’s aboriginal population is also generally younger than that of Canada as a whole, with a median age for First Nations of 21. That means half the population is younger than that.

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Nationally, First Nations had a median age of 26, Métis had a median age of 31 and non-aboriginals had a median age of 41.

Almost six in 10 status First Nations people in Manitoba live on reserve, compared to just under half of First Nations people across Canada who live on reserve.