Population
- According to 1996 census data, Aboriginal people comprise 4% of the metropolitan Edmonton population.
- Edmonton has the second-highest number of Aboriginal people in a major Canadian city (Winnipeg is first).
- The population growth rate for Aboriginal people is much higher than for non-Aboriginals.
- 73% of the Aboriginal population is under 35 years of age.
Family
- Aboriginal families are consistently more economically challenged than non-Aboriginal families.
- The relative scarcity of Aboriginal adults means that Aboriginal youth have fewer positive role models from whom to learn positive messages about Aboriginal culture.
- Aboriginal dependence on social assistance programming is about seven times greater than that for non-Aboriginal Albertans.
- Aboriginal children are over-represented in the child welfare and young offender caseloads.
Youth
- Aboriginal people in Edmonton are, in aggregate, significantly younger than the non-Aboriginal population.
- Aboriginal youth experience unemployment rates twice as high as non-Aboriginal youth.
- Aboriginal youth are less likely to complete grade school.
Education
- Only 17% of Aboriginal people have completed some post-secondary education as compared to 30% of the non-Aboriginal population.
- Family structures, such as the high number of single parent families, introduce further challenges to successfully completing grade 12 or securing employment.
- There are very few programs in schools to assist Aboriginal children deemed “at risk”.
Employment
- Aboriginal people experience unemployment at a rate of about two and a half times that of non-Aboriginal Albertans.
- Aboriginal people receive income from employment that is only 60% of that received by non-Aboriginal Albertans.
- Aboriginal people are under-represented in self-employment statistics.
Treaty 6
Treaty 8