Indigenous Employment and Skills Strategies in Canada

OECD

• Publisher: OECD
• Year: 2018
• eBook ISBN: 9789264305892
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Sociology
• Index: Social Sciences

Chapter 1. Indigenous labour market outcomes in Canada

Disparities in labour force outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous People can be addressed through more active labour market programmes, which involve a range of economic development actors. This chapter overviews key employment trends within the Indigenous population in Canada. It then outlines innovations of Indigenous organisations that are actively managing and delivering employment programmes, which seek to provide meaningful job opportunities to their Indigenous communities.

Recent population and labour market trends

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) was established in 2008 in response to the systemic harm that the Residential School system inflicted on Indigenous People. In 2015, the TRC released its final report. In order to redress the legacy of Residential schools and advance the process of Canadian reconciliation, the report included 94 Calls to Action. These Calls to Action urged all levels of government, federal, provincial, territorial and Indigenous, to work together to change policies and programmes in order to repair the harm caused by Residential Schools and advance forward with reconciliation. (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 2015).

One of the Calls to Action states that, “we call upon the federal government to develop with Aboriginal groups a joint strategy to eliminate educational and employment gaps between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians” (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 2015). The TRC observed that disparities in education and skills were closely tied with employment outcomes. While the government has made strides in prioritizing the rights and lives of Indigenous People, inequalities still remain and require multi-faceted policies to improve success (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 2015).

The 2016 Census of Population and the 2011 National Household Survey (NHS) in Canada provide the most current and accurate portraits of the demographic and socio-economic conditions of Indigenous People in Canada. This report looks to the NHS, the Census, and other sources to ascertain how Indigenous People in Canada are currently fairing in the labour market. Indigenous outcomes are improving along several economic, social, and labour market indicators (Statistics Canada, 2017e).

Demographics and population trends

In 2011, First Nation People, Métis, and Inuit Indigenous groups comprised 4.3% of Canada’s population (Statistics Canada, 2016a). Therefore, more than 1.4 million Canadians self-identified as Indigenous in the 2011 NHS (Statistics Canada, 2016a).

However, this number has grown considerably; between 2011 and 2016, Canada’s total population grew by 4.9%, amounting to 34 460 065 people within the entire Canadian population as recorded by the 2016 Census. Simultaneously, the Indigenous population in Canada increased by 18%, with Statistics Canada documenting 1 673 780 Indigenous People within the 2016 Census (Statistics Canada, 2017a).

While the fertility rate of the entire Canadian population in 2011 was 1.6 children per woman (close to the OECD average of 1.7 children per woman), the Indigenous population in Canada had a fertility rate of 2.2 children per woman (Arriagada, 2016). In turn, the Indigenous population in Canada is growing at a far quicker pace than the rest of the Canadian population. This trend has been observed historically as well as there was a 20.1% increase in the fertility rate of the Indigenous population from 2006 to 2011, compared to a 5.2% increase in the non-Indigenous population (Statistics Canada, 2016a).

Composing 4.9% of the total Canadian population in 2016, Indigenous People have experienced significant growth in the population within the past decade (42.5%) and an 18.9% growth rate in the past five years (Statistics Canada, 2017d). Furthermore, Canada’s Indigenous population is very young in comparison with age distributions of non-Indigenous Canadians. Nearly half (46.2%) of the Indigenous population in 2011 was 24 years old or less compared to only 29.5% of the non-Indigenous population (Statistics Canada, 2011c; Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, 2013). In 2016, the average age of an Indigenous person (32.1 years old) was nearly a decade younger than the average age of a non-Indigenous person (40 years) (Statistics Canada, 2017d).

Previous work by the OECD highlights how an estimated 350 000 Indigenous youth will turn 15 years old between 2016-26, which provides an unprecedented opportunity to leverage investments in job and skills training and employment readiness for Indigenous youth in order to fill crucial labour shortages in Canada (OECD, 2016).

Figure 1.1. Age Distribution for Canadian Indigenous and non-Indigenous Populations, 2016

Source: Statistics Canada (2017), Aboriginal identity population by age and sex, Catalogue no. 98-402-X2016009,

National Household Survey 2016, available at http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/hlt-fst/abo-aut/index-eng.cfm.

StatLink http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888933723739

Geographic residency of Indigenous People

Figure 1.2 shows geographic locations of Indigenous People across Canada’s provinces and territories in 2016. Data from the 2006 Census to the 2016 Census illustrates trends in Indigenous People migrating from rural to urban settings. During that time, the population of Indigenous People living in metropolitan areas increased by 59.7%. Therefore, more than half (51.8%) of the Indigenous Population live in metropolitan centres in Canada as of 2016 (Statistics Canada, 2017).

In 2016, the province with the highest number of Indigenous People was Ontario (374 395 people), which was a 54.1 percentage change over the past five years. With one-fifth of the total Métis population, Ontario had the largest Métis population in Canada (120 585) in 2016. This was a 64.3% from the population in 2006 (Statistics Canada, 2017).

In comparison, over the past decade, there was a 75.1% growth from in the population of First Nations which did not have registered or treaty Indian status (232 375 people) and a 30.8% growth in First Nations who have registered or treaty Indian status (744 855 people). First Nations with registered or treaty Indian status therefore accounted for 76.2% of the First Nations population (Statistics Canada, 2017).

Figure 1.2. Percentage of Indigenous populations per Canadian province, 2016

Source: Statistics Canada (2017), Aboriginal identity population by both sexes, total - age, 2016 counts, Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census – 25% Sample data, Aboriginal Peoples Highlight Tables, 2016 Census, http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/hlt-fst/abo-aut/Table.cfm?Lang=Eng&T=101&D1=1&D2=1&D3=1&RPP=25&PR=0&SR=1&S=102&O=D (accessed on 25 January 2018).

StatLink http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888933723758

Indigenous identity

The data which refers to the Indigenous population in this report only includes the population which selected to be recognised as having an “Aboriginal Identity” in the Canadian Census. Because Indigenous history, culture and identity are complex concepts, the census also asks whether the respondent has “Aboriginal Heritage”. Compared to the 1.7 million people who reported “Aboriginal Identities” in 2011, 2.1 million Canadians recorded an Aboriginal ancestry in the 2016 Census (Statistics Canada, 2016a). This means that about 400 000 respondents are decedents of Aboriginal ancestors, but did not identify on the census as Indigenous. Canada allows citizens to self-identify as Indigenous since the identity of Indigenous People are nuanced in every form—both individually and collectively. By giving Canadians the autonomy to choose if they identify as Indigenous, the government recognises that each individual has the legitimacy to determine their own identity (Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, 2013). While the government enables individuals to self-identify as Indigenous, this is different than Indian Status, which i...

Table of contents

• Title page
• Legal and rights
• Preface
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• Reader’s Guide
• Acronyms and Abbreviations
• Executive Summary
• Chapter 1. Indigenous labour market outcomes in Canada
• Chapter 2. Improving local skills training for Indigenous People in Canada
• Chapter 3. Indigenous job creation through SMEs and entrepreneurship policies
• Chapter 4. Urban Indigenous People in Canada
• Chapter 5. Recommendations
• About the OECD