Intergenerational Ethnic Mobility among Canadian Aboriginal Populations in 2001

• Main Authors: Robitaille, Norbert, Guimond, Éric, Boucher, Alexandre
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Population Research Laboratory, University of Alberta 2010
• Subjects: Canada; inuit
• Online Access: http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/csp/article/view/16027

This article deals with the contribution of intergenerational ethnic mobility to the demographic reproduction of the Aboriginal groups in Canada: the North American Indians, the Métis and the Inuit. To this effect, it attempts to see if children in husband/wife census families keep the identity of their parents. As expected, children from endogamous couples generally keep their parents’ identity. However, for most children from exogamous couples formed by an Aboriginal person and a non-Aboriginal person, the Aboriginal identity prevails over the non-Aboriginal identity. If Aboriginal identities were “not attractive” identities when declaring the ethnic affiliation of children in situations of exogamous unions, then the size of the Aboriginal population in Canada would be significantly smaller.