Prince George’s Aboriginal population sees 50% spike in last decade: Stats Canada

The 2016 Aboriginal people Census netted some positive results for Prince George and the rest of BC.

The local First Nations population in the northern capital has grown by leaps and bounds.

“There were just over 7,000 First Nations people in Prince George and that’s a growth of a little over 50% since 2006,” says Thomas Anderson, Statistics Canada analyst.

In BC, the province’s Aboriginal population has spiked by 33% since 2006, which now stands at 170,000 people.

The growing Aboriginal figures are on the young side and compare favourably to the rest of the BC Anderson says.

“The average age of First Nations people in Prince George was 28.4 years, the average age of First Nations people in British Columbia was a little bit older at 31.8 years.”

In both cases, the figure is lower than the national mark of 32 years of age.

In BC, there are 195 First Nation or Indian Bands.

Over half of Canada’s Aboriginal population lives in the western provinces with BC having the largest amount at 17.7%.