National Indigenous History Month 2024... By the numbers
Environment, traditional knowledge, and territory
Inuit Nunangat comprises roughly 40% of Canada's land area and 72% of its coastline. In 2021, there were 70,545 Inuit living in Canada, with just over two-thirds (69.0%) living in Inuit Nunangat. First Nations people, Métis and Inuit in Canada
In 2017, most Indigenous youth reported that they felt good about their Indigenous identity: 91% of First Nations youth living off reserve, 93% of Métis youth, and 97% of Inuit youth. Chapter 4: Indigenous Youth in Canada
Languages, cultures, and art
While the number of Indigenous people reporting an Indigenous language as their mother tongue declined by 7.1% between 2016 and 2021 censuses, the number of those who learned an Indigenous language as a second language continued to rise. In 2021, over one-quarter (27.7%) of Indigenous language speakers learned it as their second language, up from 24.8% in 2016. Indigenous languages across Canada
Gross domestic income earned by Indigenous workers and Indigenous-led businesses in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector as well as the information and cultural industries sector exceeded $1.1 billion in 2021. Gross domestic income attributable to Indigenous people by industry
Indigenous people were less likely to report having a good or great deal of confidence in Canadian institutions when compared with non-Indigenous people, such as the police (48% versus 63%), the justice system (30% versus 47%) and federal Parliament (16% versus 33%). Confidence in Canadian Institutions
Between 2017 and 2020, roughly one-half of First Nations people living off reserve (47.6%) and Métis (51.4%) reported using a doctor's office as their usual place of care for minor health problems, followed by walk-in clinics. Among Inuit, one-fifth (21.2%) reported using a doctor's office while about double that proportion (41.8%) used community health centres. Primary health care access among First Nations people living off reserve, Métis and Inuit, 2017 to 2020