Demographic shift signals ‘opportunity’
B.C.’s Aboriginal population grew 38 per cent over the last decade, latest data shows
The Aboriginal population in British Columbia grew 38 per cent over a decade to hit 270,585 in the 2016 census, a growth rate that was more than three times B.C.’s population as a whole, due both to high rates of fertility and an increasing willingness to identify as Indigenous, the latest data released by Statistics Canada shows.
And that growth rate makes Aboriginal communities a slightly bigger presence in B.C. as a whole, accounting for six per cent of the province’s total population, compared with just under five per cent a decade ago.
“I think it’s a really good news story for Indigenous communities because growth is really healthy,” said Rima Wilkes, a University of B.C. sociology professor who studies Indigenous and immigration issues.
“At the same time, (becoming) a relatively larger share of the population does increase relative power,” Wilkes said, though Aboriginal communities still face considerable challenges.
The $23,857 median income for Aboriginal people in B.C., for instance, is still more than $9,670 lower than the median income for non-Aboriginals, 18 per cent of First Nations people live in housing that needs major repairs and 25 per cent live in poverty compared with 15 per cent for non-Aboriginals.
“In many ways, we’ve seen tremendous change with regard to our political battles,” said Stewart Phillip, Grand Chief of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs.
“At the same time, things have remained the same in terms of the appalling socio-economic conditions of the vast majority of our communities,” which becomes harder to ignore as First Nations become more visible, he said.
Health and education services for Aboriginal communities remain underfunded, Phillip said, and despite increased attention to Indigenous issues, Phillip argues that “the crisis will deepen with regard to social issues.”
However, Phillip said the rising frustration of Aboriginal communities has translated into the political mobilization of First Nations voters, which was seen in both the last federal and provincial elections.
Phillip said Aboriginal communities are starting to see better educational outcomes, Aboriginal health authorities are fighting to improve health services and Indigenous entrepreneurs are becoming more successful in building businesses.
“(And there are) more Aboriginal people entering mainstream politics,” Phillip said. “That is a consequence of the crisis, seeking ways and means for changing that reality.”
However, other leaders see more future opportunities in the census data.
“I think this reporting of data and information is very important,” said Robert Phillips, political executive for the First Nations Summit. “We need all that information, we need even more.”
To Phillips, the data shows that with more baby boomers retiring, there are more chances for Aboriginal youth to advance into jobs, especially in rural B.C., as long as they have access to the education and training that will get them there.
“We need access to more tools for education so when our children turn into adults, they have well paying jobs,” Phillips said.
“If you find prosperity happens for First Nations, I think that means prosperity for rural B.C. or Canada in general.”
Conditions are changing with governments at the federal and provincial levels making commitments to reconciliation with First Nations and adoption of the United Nations Declaration of Rights of Indigenous People.
“Change does take time,” Phillips said, “But at no point in history, especially in my political career, have I seen the opportunity as it is now.”
The Aboriginal population in B.C. is relatively young, with an average age of 33, compared with 42 in the non-Aboriginal population, however it is slightly older than the average 32 years of Indigenous people across the country.
Some 26 per cent of Aboriginals in B.C. are children under the age of 14, compared with 15 per cent for non-Aboriginal people.
And Aboriginal populations in the province are growing both on and off reserve, with some 60 per cent living outside of their home communities.
In Metro Vancouver, Surrey saw the biggest increase in its Indigenous population, which grew 77 per cent between 2006 and 2016 to 13,460, according to numbers crunched from the census by demographer Andy Yan, head of the City program at SFU.
Across Metro Vancouver, the Aboriginal population topped 61,455, according to the census data, which far surpassed Victoria as having the second largest urban Indigenous population at 17,245 and Prince George which counted 12,395 Aboriginal residents.