In 2020, there were 1,021,356 registered Indians in Canada. Between 2000 and 2020, the number of registered Indians in Canada experienced an increase, going from some 670 thousand to over one million.

Registered Indians Registered Indians in Canada are all First Nations people who are, as the name suggests, registered as an officially recognized Indian by the Canadian government. No Inuit or Métis is a Registered Indian under Canadian law, leaving only certain First Nations peoples as qualifiers. The word “Indian” is a legal term in this case and has otherwise fallen out of favor. It has been replaced by First Nations, a term used to describe all Canadian aboriginal people who are neither Métis nor Inuit.

Registered Indian status affords benefits and rights not granted to non-Registered Indians including access to reserves and self-governance within them, exemption of federal and provincial taxes to those living on reserve, and postsecondary education financial assistance. The Indian Act of 1951 established the current Indian Register and was revised in 1985 to include people that had been wrongly excluded by the original law.

The number of Registered Indians has grown significantly since 2000 and currently the largest population resides in Ontario, which also has the largest overall population of aboriginal peoples in Canada. British Columbia is home to the largest number of Indian bands, at 199 in 2020.

There were over one million registered Indians in Canada as of December 2020. The region with the largest Indian population was Ontario, with 222 thousand, followed by Manitoba, which counted 164 thousand Indians. The regions with the smallest Indian populations were Yukon, and Northwest Territories.

Key information about Canada population

• The Canada population reached 41.3 million people in Jun 2024, compared with the previously reported figure of 40.1 million people in Jun 2023
• The data reached an all-time high of 41.3 million people in Jun 2024 and a record low of 14.0 million people in Jun 1950

CEIC extends history for annual Population. Statistics Canada provides Mid-year Population. Postcensal estimates, which are based on the latest Census counts adjusted for Census Net Undercoverage (CNU), including adjustment for Incompletely Enumerated Indian Reserves (IEIR) and the components of demographic growth that occurred since that census. Intercensal estimates are produced using counts from two consecutive censuses adjusted for CNU (including (IEIR) and postcensal estimates) Population prior to 1971 is sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. Population is in annual frequency, ending in June of each year.


Further information about Canada population data

• In the latest reports, Canada Unemployment Rate increased to 6.6 % in Aug 2024
• Monthly earnings of the Canada population was 3,656.6 USD in Jun 2024
• Canada Labour Force Participation Rate increased to 66.2 % in Aug 2024

This map shows the distribution of the North American Indian population. The largest number of North American Indians live in Ontario (118 830); they make up 80% of the total Aboriginal population of that province. They are distributed in the large agglomerations of the south, but also in the north and west of the province. In British Columbia, 77% of Aboriginal people are Indians (113 315). These two provinces account for 42% of the Indian population in Canada. The three Prairie Provinces are home to another 42% of the North American Indian population.

Contained within the 5th Edition (1978 to 1995) of the National Atlas of Canada is a map that shows distribution of Indians and Inuit using several types of symbols to represent population in 1976.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset tabulates the population of Canadian by race. It includes the population of Canadian across racial categories (excluding ethnicity) as identified by the Census Bureau. The dataset can be utilized to understand the population distribution of Canadian across relevant racial categories.

Key observations

The percent distribution of Canadian population by race (across all racial categories recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau): 87.26% are white, 3.30% are American Indian and Alaska Native and 9.43% are multiracial.

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2018-2022 5-Year Estimates.

Racial categories include:

• White
• Black or African American
• American Indian and Alaska Native
• Asian
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
• Some other race
• Two or more races (multiracial)

Variables / Data Columns

• Race: This column displays the racial categories (excluding ethnicity) for the Canadian
• Population: The population of the racial category (excluding ethnicity) in the Canadian is shown in this column.
• % of Total Population: This column displays the percentage distribution of each race as a proportion of Canadian total population. Please note that the sum of all percentages may not equal one due to rounding of values.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for Canadian Population by Race & Ethnicity. You can refer the same here

In 2022, almost *** thousand Indian nationals got permanent residence in Canada. Out of this, ** percent were women. Canada is one of the leading countries hosting Indian migrant population.

Projected population (in thousands) by Indigenous identity, age group, sex, area of residence, provinces and territories, Canada, 2016 (observed) and 2017 to 2041 (projected according to three scenarios).

The provide detailed statistical tables for 18 scenarios by single year of the projection period (2001 to 2017). For each of the scenarios, data are available for persons who identify with each of the following three groups: the North American Indian population, the Métis or the Inuit. All three groups were projected separately for each of the ten provinces and three territories. However, the subprovincial and subterritorial level shown for the three groups varies as it depends on the groups' size. For the North American Indians, future numbers were calculated for the urban parts of all census metropolitan areas (CMAs), urban areas outside CMAs, rural areas and reserves. For the Métis, places of residence were grouped into urban parts of CMAs, urban areas outside CMAs and rural areas, which also include reserves. Because of their relatively small size, the Inuit population was projected separately for urban and rural locations only. This information is further broken down by age and sex. The 18 scenarios, as well as scenario-specific assumptions on the future trend in fertility and internal migration, are presented in the table below. In addition to these two components of population growth, all scenarios assumed declining mortality and negligible importance of international migration to the change of the size of three Aboriginal groups. The statistical tables of this CD-ROM are organized into three sections: Aboriginal groups - The projected population by Aboriginal group, type of residence, province/territory and sex for the 18 scenarios by single year from 2001 to 2017; Age and sex - The projected population by Aboriginal group, type of residence, age group and sex for the 18 scenarios by single year from 2001 to 2017; and Province/territory - The projected total Aboriginal population by province/territory, age group, sex and type of residence for the 18 scenarios for 2001 and 2017. The statistical tables are supplementary to the publication Projections of the Aboriginal populations, Canada, provinces and territories: 2001 to 2017 (catalogue no. 91-547).

Contained within the 4th Edition (1974) of the Atlas of Canada is a map that shows the Indian and Inuit population as a percentage of the total national population by census division as of 1961. The outmoded name Eskimo is used on this 1974 map to denote Canada's Inuit peoples. The locations and populations of Indian communities both on and off reserve is denoted along with Inuit community locations and populations as of 1961. A supplementary graph showing changes in the Indian and Inuit population for 1800 to 1969 is provided.

It is presumed that the first humans migrated from Siberia to North America approximately twelve thousand years ago, where they then moved southwards to warmer lands. It was not until many centuries later that humans returned to the north and began to settle regions that are now part of Canada. Despite a few short-lived Viking settlements on Newfoundland around the turn of the first millennium CE, the Italian explorer Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot), became the first European to explore the coast of North America in the late 1400s. The French and British crowns both made claims to areas of Canada throughout the sixteenth century, but real colonization and settlement did not begin until the early seventeenth century. Over the next 150 years, France and Britain competed to take control of the booming fur and fishing trade, and to expand their overseas empires. In the Seven Year's War, Britain eventually defeated the French colonists in North America, through superior numbers and a stronger agriculture resources in the southern colonies, and the outcome of the war saw France cede practically all of it's colonies in North America to the British.

Increased migration and declining native populations

The early 1800s saw a large influx of migrants into Canada, with the Irish Potato Famine bringing the first wave of mass-migration to the country, with further migration coming from Scandinavia and Northern Europe. It is estimated that the region received just shy of one million migrants from the British Isles alone, between 1815 and 1850, which helped the population grow to 2.5 million in the mid-1800s and 5.5 million in 1900. It is also estimated that infectious diseases killed around 25 to 33 percent of all Europeans who migrated to Canada before 1891, and around a third of the Canadian population is estimated to have emigrated southwards to the United States in the 1871-1896 period. From the time of European colonization until the mid-nineteenth century, the native population of Canada dropped from roughly 500,000 (some estimates put it as high as two million) to just over 100,000; this was due to a mixture of disease, starvation and warfare, instigated by European migration to the region. The native population was generally segregated and oppressed until the second half of the 1900s; Native Canadians were given the vote in 1960, and, despite their complicated and difficult history, the Canadian government has made significant progress in trying to include indigenous cultures in the country's national identity in recent years. As of 2020, Indigenous Canadians make up more than five percent of the total Canadian population, and a higher birth rate means that this share of the population is expected to grow in the coming decades.

Independence and modern Canada

Canadian independence was finally acknowledged in 1931 by the Statute of Westminster, putting it on equal terms with the United Kingdom within the Commonwealth; virtually granting independence and sovereignty until the Canada Act of 1982 formalized it. Over the past century, Canada has had a relatively stable political system and economy (although it was hit particularly badly by the Wall Street Crash of 1929). Canada entered the First World War with Britain, and as an independent Allied Power in the Second World War; Canadian forces played pivotal roles in a number of campaigns, notably Canada's Hundred Days in WWI, and the country lost more than 100,000 men across both conflicts. The economy boomed in the aftermath of the Second World War, and a stream of socially democratic programs such as universal health care and the Canadian pension plan were introduced, which contributed to a rise in the standard of living. The post war period also saw various territories deciding to join Canada, with Newfoundland joining in 1949, and Nunavut in 1999. Today Canada is among the most highly ranked in countries in terms of civil liberties, quality of life and economic growth. It promotes and welcomes immigrants from all over the world and, as a result, it has one of the most ethnically diverse and multicultural populations of any country in the world. As of 2020, Canada's population stands at around 38 million people, and continues to grow due to high migration levels and life expectancy, and a steady birth rate.

The map shows the distribution of the population by census subdivision who identified themselves in the 2006 Census as North American Indian. According to the 2006 Census, 698 025 people identified themselves as North American Indian also referred to as 'First Nations people'.

Indigenous identity by Registered or Treaty Indian status, age and gender for the population in private households, Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts.

Historical census data (2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021) on highest certificate, diploma or degree of Indigenous populations, including percentages. Provides data for the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program (PCEIP).

Indigenous identity by gender and age for the population in private households which includes counts, percentage distribution and percentage change from the 2016 and 2021 censuses.

There were 199 Indian bands in British Columbia in 2020, the region with the highest number of Indian bands in Canada. Ontario followed with 126. In total, there were 619 Indian bands in Canada that year.

The projected population of the Indigenous population by projection scenario.

This table contains 69696 series, with data for years 2012 - 2012 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (11 items: Canada; Atlantic; Quebec; Ontario; ...) Aboriginal identity (6 items: Total, Aboriginal identity; First Nations (North American Indian); First Nations (North American Indian), Registered or Treaty Indian; First Nations (North American Indian), not a Registered or Treaty Indian; ...) Age group (4 items: Total, 15 years and over; 15 to 24 years; 25 to 54 years; 55 years and over) Sex (3 items: Both sexes; Male; Female) Making handcrafted goods (22 items: Total, made clothing or footwear in the last year; Made clothing or footwear in the last year; Made clothing or footwear at least once a week in the last month; Made clothing or footwear less than once a week but at least once in the last month; ...) Statistics (4 items: Number of persons; Percent; Low 95% confidence interval; High 95% confidence interval).

Contained within the 5th Edition (1978 to 1995) of the National Atlas of Canada is a map that shows distribution of Indians and Inuit using several types of symbols to represent population in 1976.

Educational attainment in the population aged 25 to 64, off-reserve Indigenous, non-Indigenous and total population, Canada and jurisdictions. This table is included in Section D: Postsecondary education: Educational attainment of the population aged 25 to 64 of the Pan Canadian Education Indicators Program (PCEIP). PCEIP draws from a wide variety of data sources to provide information on the school-age population, elementary, secondary and postsecondary education, transitions, and labour market outcomes. The program presents indicators for all of Canada, the provinces, the territories, as well as selected international comparisons and comparisons over time. PCEIP is an ongoing initiative of the Canadian Education Statistics Council, a partnership between Statistics Canada and the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada that provides a set of statistical measures on education systems in Canada.