Depopulation of Canada's First Nations

Over 100 000 dead: The Aboriginal population of Canada has been estimated to be about 250 000 before the Europeans colonized North America. By 1822, that number had dropped to 100 000. That is a loss of 40% of the population.

• Depopulation from disease was one of the first problems to plague the Aboriginal inhabitants of Canada. Because they had never encountered many of the diseases to which Europeans had developed immunity, contact with Europeans devastated their communities. Thousands died of influenza, smallpox, and other diseases. In some communities, as much as 90% of the population died in a single season. The Europeans were unable to help the native people although, on the other hand, the native people were able to save the Europeans with their own remedies, such as tea made with white cedar bark.
• Depopulation from inadequate diet: Starvation was a problem as European settlement encroached on the native way of life and made traditional hunting and fishing areas inaccessible. Over-hunting and over-fishing by the new residents meant that the game on which the native people relied was no longer available. The government-established reserves had insufficient wildlife to feed the people who lived there, and they were unable to follow their traditional nomadic hunting routes because of settlement.
• Depopulation from warfare had two effects on the Indigenous people of Canada. First, as different tribes allied themselves with the French and the British for trade and protection, they were brought into battles that had little to do with their people. Many native people died in the names of France and Britain or in the defence of Canada against the United States. As well, because these same tribes were provided with weapons, they were able to wage war against each other for territory and possessions. This led to the Cree extending their territory all the way to Alberta and British Columbia and the Iroquois Confederacy launching raids from the northeastern U.S. into Canada.

Today's High Aboriginal Population: Despite the huge losses over time in the Aboriginal population, Canada has the second highest Aboriginal population by per cent in the world. Only New Zealand has a higher number of citizens of Aboriginal ancestry. The United States has only 1.5% of its population with native roots.

Today, Canada has 400 000 status Indians and more than 1.3 million Canadians who claim some Aboriginal ancestry. That totals slightly more than 3% of the total Canadian population.

Those numbers are increasing. Aboriginal people in Canada have a birth rate that is almost twice the national average.