Indigenous & Immigration
Indigenous identity, First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and immigrant populations. — 2021 Census of Population
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Indigenous (%)
Indigenous identity as percentage of total population
Distribution by riding
Indigenous share of the population by federal riding, 2021 Census. Median 2.8%; range 0.0% (Brampton East) to 86.9% (Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River); half of ridings between 1.4% and 5.8%. Canada: 5.0%.
Colour
- Canada 5.0%
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Vertical axis: Indigenous share of the population (%)
Each dot is one federal riding (343 with a figure; 2023 Representation Order), placed by its value and spread across the axis so that dots do not overlap. The line marks the value for Canada as a whole (5.0%). Prairies: Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Atlantic: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. North: Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population.
Highest and lowest ridings
Indigenous share of the population by federal riding, 2021 Census. 343 ridings ranked from highest (1) to lowest; tied values share a rank. Bars start at zero on one scale; the vertical line marks the value for Canada (5.0%).
10 highest
| Rank | Riding | Bar | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill RiverSK | 86.9% | |
| 2 | NunavutNU | 85.8% | |
| 3 | Churchill—Keewatinook AskiMB | 76.9% | |
| 4 | Northwest TerritoriesNT | 49.6% | |
| 5 | Kenora—KiiwetinoongON | 46.5% | |
| 6 | LabradorNL | 43.1% | |
| 7 | Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—EeyouQC | 39.6% | |
| 8 | Prince AlbertSK | 36.4% | |
| 9 | Skeena—Bulkley ValleyBC | 33.8% | |
| 10 | Battlefords—Lloydminster—Meadow LakeSK | 32.7% |
10 lowest
| Rank | Riding | Bar | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 343 | Brampton EastON | 0.0% | |
| 341 | Markham—ThornhillON | 0.1% | |
| 341 | Markham—UnionvilleON | 0.1% | |
| 338 | Mississauga—MaltonON | 0.2% | |
| 338 | ThornhillON | 0.2% | |
| 338 | Vaughan—WoodbridgeON | 0.2% | |
| 331 | Mount RoyalQC | 0.3% | |
| 331 | Richmond Hill SouthON | 0.3% | |
| 331 | Saint-LaurentQC | 0.3% | |
| 331 | WillowdaleON | 0.3% |
All 343 ridings, ranked
Value: Indigenous identity as percentage of total population. Riding names link to the riding's dissemination-area map for this topic.
Indigenous & Immigration — 2021 Census
Auto generated. Flag an issue.Indigenous Identity & Immigration in Canada
The 2021 Census counted 1.81 million Indigenous people in Canada — 5 percent of the total population — including 1.05 million First Nations, 624,000 Métis, and 70,545 Inuit. At the same time, 8.36 million immigrants (23 percent of the population) called Canada home, the highest share since Confederation. This topic maps both populations, revealing two overlapping but geographically opposite demographic realities: Indigenous populations concentrated in the North and prairies, immigrant populations concentrated in the GTA and Metro Vancouver.
Indigenous Identity
Indigenous Canadians are concentrated in northern and prairie ridings. Desnethé–Missinippi–Churchill River in northern Saskatchewan leads at 86.3 percent Indigenous, followed by Nunavut (85.8%) and Churchill–Keewatinook Aski in northern Manitoba (76.6%). The Northwest Territories (49.6%) and Kenora–Kiiwetinoong in northwestern Ontario (46.4%) round out the top five.
The map reveals a clear north-south gradient: Indigenous identity percentages decline steadily from the territorial North through the prairies to southern Canada. In most GTA and Metro Vancouver ridings, Indigenous populations are below 2 percent — statistically invisible in Canada's most diverse urban areas.
First Nations
First Nations people are the largest Indigenous group and concentrate in two geographic bands: the boreal shield from northern Manitoba through northern Ontario and Quebec, and the Pacific coast. Desnethé–Missinippi–Churchill River (70.9%) and Churchill–Keewatinook Aski (70.5%) are the two ridings with the highest First Nations shares, both containing large reserves and Cree communities.
Métis
The Métis nation is concentrated in the prairie provinces, especially Manitoba. Selkirk–Interlake–Eastman leads at 13.9 percent, followed by Desnethé–Missinippi (14.4%) and Prince Albert (13.0%). The Métis heartland runs from the Red River valley through central Saskatchewan — the historic homeland of the Métis nation.
Inuit
Nunavut is 84.3 percent Inuit — by far the highest concentration of any Indigenous group in any Canadian riding. Labrador (19.2%) and Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou (14.4%, covering Nunavik in northern Quebec) are the only other ridings with significant Inuit populations. The Inuit are the most geographically concentrated of all Indigenous groups, living almost entirely in the four Inuit Nunangat regions of the Arctic.
Immigrant Population
Immigrant concentration mirrors visible minority patterns. Scarborough North leads at 64.0 percent immigrant, followed by Scarborough–Agincourt (63.0%) and Markham–Thornhill (62.1%). The top ten is entirely GTA and Metro Vancouver — the two metro areas that receive the vast majority of Canada's annual immigration intake.
The least-immigrant ridings are in rural Quebec and Newfoundland: Lac-Saint-Jean (0.5%), Jonquière (0.6%), and Central Newfoundland (0.8%). These are communities where the population is almost entirely Canadian-born, and where immigration is a distant phenomenon observed on television rather than experienced in daily life.
Riding Rankings
Highest Indigenous Identity
| Rank | Riding | Indigenous % |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Desnethé–Missinippi–Churchill River | 86.3% |
| 2 | Nunavut | 85.8% |
| 3 | Churchill–Keewatinook Aski | 76.6% |
| 4 | Northwest Territories | 49.6% |
| 5 | Kenora–Kiiwetinoong | 46.4% |
| 6 | Labrador | 43.0% |
| 7 | Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou | 39.5% |
| 8 | Prince Albert | 36.4% |
| 9 | Skeena–Bulkley Valley | 33.7% |
| 10 | Battlefords–Lloydminster–Meadow Lake | 32.7% |
The top three ridings are majority-Indigenous — the only federal ridings in Canada where Indigenous people are the demographic majority. The presence of Skeena–Bulkley Valley in BC (Gitxsan, Wet'suwet'en, Tsimshian nations) and Labrador (Inuit, Innu, NunatuKavut) shows that high Indigenous populations are not exclusively a prairie phenomenon.
Highest Immigrant Share
| Rank | Riding | Immigrant % |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scarborough North | 64.0% |
| 2 | Scarborough–Agincourt | 63.0% |
| 3 | Markham–Thornhill | 62.1% |
| 4 | Richmond Centre–Marpole | 61.2% |
| 5 | Mississauga Centre | 61.1% |
| 6 | Markham–Unionville | 61.0% |
| 7 | Willowdale | 60.3% |
| 8 | Richmond Hill South | 60.0% |
| 9 | Don Valley North | 59.2% |
| 10 | Mississauga–Malton | 57.8% |
In these ridings, the majority of residents were born outside Canada — a remarkable statistic that reflects both the scale of Canadian immigration and its geographic concentration. The GTA alone accounts for eight of the top ten, underscoring how heavily dependent Canada's immigration system is on a single metropolitan area for settlement and integration.
Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population. Riding boundaries reflect the 2022 Federal Electoral Districts. Adapted from Statistics Canada; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population. Adapted from Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.