Aboriginal Seniors

Aboriginal Seniors Population Growing

As of the 2006 Census, there were 7,130 Aboriginal seniors in Alberta, comprising 2.1% of the seniors population. (Note: As in previous Censuses, enumeration of Indian Reserves and Indian Settlements was incomplete in 2006. Caution should be exercised in analyzing trends for Aboriginal peoples based on previous Census data. Over time, patterns in Aboriginal self-identification have changed. In recent years, a growing number of people who had not previously identified with an Aboriginal group are now doing so. Changes in Aboriginal participation in the Census over time also result in comparability issues.) This represents an increase of roughly 39% over 2001. (Note: Trend analysis for Aboriginal peoples is difficult, as enumeration of Indian Reserves and Indian Settlements was incomplete in 1996, 2001, and 2006.)

Female Aboriginal seniors outnumbered males by 117 to 100 in 2006. As with Alberta’s seniors in general, females outnumbered males in every age category.

In 2006, the Aboriginal seniors population was divided evenly among rural and urban areas. A higher percentage of Aboriginal seniors in older age groups lived in rural areas.