Canada - World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe

6
Health systems in transition Canada
Table 1.4
Ethnic self-identification of Canadian population, total population and percentage,
2006
Origin Total population Percentage (%)
British 11 098 610 35.5
Canadian 10 066 290 32.2
European 9 919 790 31.8
French 5 000 350 16.0
East and Southeast Asian 2 212 340 7.1
Aboriginal 1 678 235 5.4
South Asian 1 316 770 4.2
Other a 2 191 750 7.0
Source: Statistics Canada (2006).
Notes: Percentages are calculated as a proportion of the total number of 2006 census respondents. The sum exceeds 100% due to
multiple ethnic origin responses. a Other includes African; Arab; West Asian; Latin, Central and South American; and from Oceania.
Canada also has an Aboriginal population made up of three distinct
groupings: First Nations (North American Indians), Inuit and Métis. The terms
“status Indians” and “registered Indians” are legal terms used by the Government
of Canada to describe First Nations who are officially registered under the
terms of the Indian Act and, therefore, qualify for specified entitlements and
benefits, including “non-insured health benefits” financed and administered by
the federal government. Registered Indians can live on or off reserves, many
of which are located in rural and remote areas of Canada. Most Inuit live in
the Arctic regions of Canada, mainly in settlements located on the shore of
the Arctic Ocean. The Métis, the majority of whom are the descendants of
Euro-Canadian and Aboriginal fur traders, are concentrated in Western Canada.
First Nations and Métis are affected disproportionately more by chronic
diseases and conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease,
tuberculosis, HIV and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. First Nations people
living on reserves also experience physical injuries at a much higher rate than
the Canadian average. For example, Martens et al. (2002) found that injury
hospitalization rates among First Nations peoples living in Manitoba were
3.7 times higher than those of all other provincial residents. Although Inuit
populations are less affected by some diseases and conditions such as diabetes,
heart disease and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, due in part to more traditional
and less sedentary lives, current trends in lifestyle and diet are likely to produce
similarly poor health status outcomes in the future (Sharma et al., 2010). As a
result of poorer health status, Aboriginal Canadians account for higher average
utilization and cost of health care services than other Canadians.