More than half of kids in foster care are Indigenous: Statistics Canada

Statistics Canada‘s latest release of 2021 census data shows Indigenous children continue to be overrepresented in the child welfare system.

Data collected shows Indigenous children accounted for 53.8 per cent of all children in foster care.

This number has gone up slightly compared to the 2016 census, when Indigenous children accounted for 52.2 per cent of children in care.

More than three per cent of Indigenous children living in private households in 2021 were in foster care, compared to the less than one per cent of non-Indigenous children.

Indigenous children accounted for 7.7 per cent of all children 14 years of age of younger in Canada.

The Liberal government instituted legislation in 2020 that sought to reduce the overrepresentation of Indigenous children and youth in foster care and to improve child and family services.

he census said there were 1.8 million Indigenous people, making up five per cent of the total population in Canada.

The Indigenous population grew by 9.4 per cent from 2016 to 2021, which is faster than the non-Indigenous population but not as rapid as it has been in years past.

The Indigenous population was also 8.2 years younger, on average, than the non-Indigenous population.

The average age was 33.6 years old, compared with 41.8 for a non-Indigenous person.

Statistics Canada also found that Indigenous people were much more likely to live in a low-income household.