Statistics Canada has admitted its monthly jobs survey does not count unemployment on First Nations reserves, leaving out nearly half a million people even though those communities face some of the highest jobless rates in the country.An Inquiry of Ministry tabled in the Commons confirmed the Labour Force Survey excludes anyone living on reserves or other indigenous settlements. Instead, analysts rely on the Census every five years to estimate unemployment levels on reserves.The omission was flagged by Conservative MP Billy Morin (Edmonton Northwest), a former chief of the Enoch Cree Nation, who asked why such a large population is excluded from official job reports. “The Census is currently the primary activity for which Statistics Canada enters First Nations communities,” analysts replied..The on-reserve population totals 496,488 out of 1,127,010 First Nations Canadians, according to federal figures. A 2023 joint report between StatsCan and the Assembly of First Nations pegged unemployment on reserves at 17.8% — more than double the national average.“First Nations, Métis and Inuit advance their own data strategies and governance models,” the agency wrote, adding it “has long recognized the unique rights, interests and circumstances of First Nations.”StatsCan has faced scrutiny in the past over the accuracy of its benchmarks. Until 2022, the agency excluded used car prices from the Consumer Price Index, even though shortages during the pandemic drove sales and prices far higher..“The coverage of the Consumer Price Index is incomplete,” testified Philip Cross, a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and former chief analyst at StatsCan, during 2022 hearings in the Commons. He noted that excluding used vehicles — a cost included in U.S. calculations — understated real inflation.When analysts finally included used car prices, it added 0.2% to the inflation rate. “Shifting market dynamics have consequently resulted in steeper price increases for used vehicles than for new vehicles,” StatsCan wrote in its report Measuring Price Change For Used Vehicles In The Canadian Consumer Price Index.
