Indigenous peoples face the greatest hardships of any community in the country. Colonialism, racism, residential schools, inequitable distribution of resources and geographic isolation have resulted in a range of devastating social and economic challenges for Indigenous communities.
Save the Children, alongside community partners and other child rights organizations, is working to develop ways to create more positive environments that will empower a stronger sense of well-being among Indigenous children and youth.
Indigenous youth are the fastest growing demographic in the country.
The average poverty rate for all Indigenous children is 40%, more than twice the national average of 17%.
50% of status First Nations children live below the poverty line.
27% of Métis, Inuit, and non-status First Nations children also fall below the line.
$7.5 billion – that’s how much it would cost to bring all children in Canada up to the poverty line. $1 billion would be required for Indigenous children alone, of which $580 million would be required to lift status First Nations children to the poverty line.
$115 billion. That’s the projected cumulative economic benefit to Canada (over twenty years) if Indigenous children had similar educational achievement to other children in Canada and if Indigenous people had lower levels of under- and unemployment, according to a study by the Centre for the Study of Living Standards.
||Photo by Brent Wesley (Wawatay News) for Save the Children.
Poverty or prosperity: Indigenous children in Canada
Executive Summary - Poverty or prosperity: Indigenous children in Canada
What we’re doing:
Save the Children’s vision is of a reconciled Canada - a nation of equity, respect and partnership where every child attains the right to survival, safety, protection, development and participation.
We are committed to:
- Recognizing the diversity of the First Peoples of Canada.
- Growing the number of projects we support in a sustainable way.
- Working in partnership with community-led organizations.
For more on Save the Children’s work with Indigenous communities, check out:
*All indicators courtesy Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives