Executive Summary

This report on public opinion summarizes views regarding Aboriginal issues. It reports on the views and perspectives of diverse audiences including the general public, those living in the North, youth and Aboriginal people living on- and off-reserve in Canada.

Demographic Overview

• As of 2002, there were 976,305 people in Canada who identified themselves as Aboriginal. Of these, 286,080 (29%) lived on-reserve while 690,225 (71%) lived off-reserve.
  
  
• Between 1971 and 2001, the Aboriginal population in Canada increased by 322%, partly as a result of Bill C-31. Conversely, Canada’s non-Aboriginal population increased by only 37%.
  
  
• The Aboriginal population has a much higher proportion of youth (under age 24) than the general population of Canada.

General Findings

• While Canadians believe Aboriginal issues are important, they do not consider them to be critical public policy issues at this point in time (as compared to health care for example).
  
  
• 41% of Canadians think that the Government of Canada is doing a good job of handling Aboriginal issues. Residents of the North are even more positive, with 50% approving of federal performance. First Nations people living on-reserve are slightly more likely (36%) than those living off-reserve (29%) to say that the government is doing a good job.
  
  
• When asked to identify the most serious issue facing Aboriginal people in Canada, Canadians cite alcohol and drugs (24%) most frequently. A slightly lower percentage of Canadians (17% each) say that standard of living issues (including housing, poverty, living conditions) and racism and discrimination are the most pressing issues.

Quality of Life

• Approximately two-thirds of Canadians think that the overall standard of living of Aboriginal people is inferior to that of the average Canadian. Perhaps surprisingly, only 46% of Aboriginal people on-reserve believe that the standard of living of Aboriginal people is worse than that of other Canadians.
  
  
• Northerners are more likely than Canadians living south of 60^o to believe that the quality of life in their community is worse than that of other Canadians.
  
  
• Six in ten Canadians report that they are sympathetic to Aboriginal concerns – a level that has remained fairly stable over time. Sympathy is greatest among residents of British Columbia, Ontario, Yukon and the Northwest Territories, while residents of Quebec display the lowest levels of sympathy.

Health Care

• Aboriginal people, both on- and off-reserve, consider health care to be the most important issue facing Canada. Not surprisingly then, Aboriginal people living on- or off-reserve believe that health care should be the Government of Canada’s top priority. As such, their views correspond with those of other Canadians.
  
  
• Views among Canadians living in the North are different. Unemployment (12%) and the economy (11%) are the two top issues for Canadians living north of the 60^th parallel, with only 7% citing heath care as the most important issue.

Education

• When Canadians are asked to rate the importance of issues affecting Aboriginal youth on which the government should focus, education (40%) ranks as the top issue.
  
  
• Nearly one-half of Canadians think that the quality of on-reserve education is poor compared with the education received by the general population.
  
  
• Similarly, Aboriginal youth believe that the quality of education provided by on-reserve schools is inferior to that of “city schools”. Aboriginal youth, in a series of focus groups, offered a common assessment of the lag between the two systems – two years.
  
  
• When presented with a series of measures that might help to increase high school graduation rates among Aboriginal youth, 49% of Canadians believe that improving social, education and health programs for Aboriginal youth should be the top priority.
  
  
• More than one-half (58%) of Aboriginal people living off-reserve say that retaining their Aboriginal language is important to them, with another 29% saying that it is at least somewhat important. A high percentage of Northerners (40%) report that they are “very concerned” with the potential loss of Aboriginal languages and culture.

Economic Development

• Northerners and Canadians living south of 60^o both place a high priority on improving the quality of life in Aboriginal communities. One of the ways to accomplish this would be through “more economic development opportunities for Aboriginal people”, an approach characterised as “very important” by 47% of Southerners and 60% of Northerners.
  
  
• Other approaches designed to improve economic development and quality of life also receive public support e.g. skills development and educational assistance.
  
  
• Northerners are optimistic about the impact of a natural gas pipeline on their territory, with 78% believing that the impact of a pipeline will be positive. Northerners are relatively certain that the economic benefits of a pipeline will outweigh any potential environmental damage.

Land Claims, Treaties and Self-Government

• Canadians consider land claims to be the fourth most serious issue facing Aboriginal Canadians, behind alcohol/drugs, discrimination and standard of living. Large majorities in both the North and South consider the settlement of Aboriginal and Inuit land claims to be an important issue.
  
  
• Having said this, Canadians appear fatigued with the land claims issue. Only about one in five Canadians agrees that land claim settlements lead to improved social and economic conditions for Aboriginal people.
  
  
• With regard to treaties, 37% of Canadians believe that historical treaties are “sacred promises that cannot be altered but can be interpreted in a modern context”. A larger segment of the public (47%) believes that historical treaties are “agreements that need to be updated from time to time”. Finally, 14% of the public believe that historical treaties are “sacred promises that cannot be altered or reinterpreted in any way”.
  
  
• Canadians offer lukewarm support for Aboriginal self-government. Only one in five citizens believes that Aboriginal people have a historic, existing right to self-government. Still, a sizable percentage (47%) believes that self-government leads to an improvement in the standard of living of Aboriginal people.

Communications Issues

• According to a survey conducted in 2004, 55% of Northerners had contacted the Government of Canada in the previous three month period for service or information. In 2003, Aboriginal people living off-reserve reported somewhat lower levels of contact, with 37% reporting that they had contacted the government during a previous three month period. This compares to 41% of Aboriginal people living on-reserve who had contacted the government during the same time-frame.
  
  
• The telephone remains the primary method of contact for people dealing with the Government of Canada, with electronic methods (Internet and e-mail) growing in use. In general, the quality of information and service received from the government is rated as good.