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2006 Census: Aboriginal Peoples in Canada in 2006: Inuit, Métis and First Nations, 2006 Census: Inuit
Many Inuit live in households with more than one family
Inuit were nearly five times more likely than non-Aboriginal people to live in households containing more than one family. In 2006, 18% of Inuit lived in a household that was home to more than one family, compared with 4% of the non-Aboriginal population.
Inuit have traditionally lived in family groupings. But at least one report has stated that 'because there is a serious shortage of housing in most communities, it is not unusual to find members of several families sharing the same often very cramped accommodation.' 1
A very small percentage of Inuit adults live alone. In 2006, only 6% of Inuit adults lived by themselves, compared with 13% of non-Aboriginal adults. This was true for Inuit adults of all ages. Only 16% of Inuit seniors lived alone, compared to 28% of non-Aboriginal seniors.
Inuit in Nunavik most likely to live in households with more than one family
Inuit in Nunavik were most likely to live in households with more than one family. Just over one-quarter (26%) of Inuit in Nunavik lived in multiple-family households in 2006, down slightly from 29% in 2001.2
This region was followed by Nunavut, where 22% of Inuit lived in households with more than one family, up from 18% in 2001. About 13% of Inuit in Nunatsiavut and 11% of those in the Inuvialuit region lived in multiple-family households, up from about 10% in each case in 2001.
In all four regions, Inuit adults were much less likely than non-Aboriginal adults to live by themselves. In Nunavik, in 2006, 4% of Inuit adults lived alone, compared with 33% of non‑Aboriginal adults. In Nunatsiavut, 4% of Inuit adults lived on their own as did 10% of non‑Aboriginal adults in the region. In Nunavut, 5% of Inuit adults lived alone, compared with 19% of non‑Aboriginal adults. In the Inuvialuit region, 10% of Inuit adults and 17% of non‑Aboriginal adults lived alone.
One-quarter of Inuit children lived with a lone parent
In 2006, nearly 70% of Inuit children aged 14 and under lived in a family with two parents. In contrast, 82% of non-Aboriginal children lived in this type of family.
On the other hand, some 4,700 Inuit children aged 14 and under, or about one-quarter of the total, lived in lone-parent families; about 20% lived with a female lone parent and 6% with a male lone parent. In comparison, 14% of non-Aboriginal children lived with a female lone parent and 3% lived with a male lone parent.
Inuit children were also more likely to live with a relative who was not a parent. In 2006, 4% of Inuit children lived with a grandparent (with no parent present) or with other relatives, compared with less than 1% of non-Aboriginal children.
Part of this difference can likely be explained by the practice of traditional or custom adoption among Inuit. Children are sometimes placed by a birth parent or parents with a relative to raise as their own, a tradition that has been practised for thousands of years.
Table 11 Living arrangements of Inuit and non-Aboriginal children aged 14 years and under, Canada, 2006
Inuit children in the Inuvialuit region and Nunavik more likely to live with a lone parent
Inuit children aged 14 and under in two regions, the Inuvialuit region and Nunavik, were most likely to live with a lone parent in 2006.
In the Inuvialuit region, 26% of children in this age group lived with a female lone parent, followed by 24% of children in Nunavik. In Nunavut, 18% lived with a female lone parent, as did 15% of children in Nunatsiavut.
About 7% of children in Nunavik lived with a male lone parent, as did about 5% of children in the other three regions.
One in every four Inuit children (24%) living in a census metropolitan area lived with a female lone parent, compared with 15% of non-Aboriginal children. Inuit children in Canada's census metropolitan areas were four times more likely to live with a male lone parent than were non-Aboriginal children—12% compared with 3%.
Notes:
- Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada. 2006. The Inuit Way: A Guide to Inuit Culture. p. 26. http://www.pauktuutit.ca/pdf/publications/pauktuutit/InuitWay_e.pdf.
- Family data for 1996 are not strictly comparable with 2006 data due to definitional changes.
