- Crown-First Nations Gathering: Universities welcome focus on Aboriginal education January 25, 2012 - Media release
- Canada's potential is inseparable from Aboriginal potentialJanuary 2, 2012 - Commentary
- Universities welcome dialogue with Indigenous high school studentsDecember 12, 2011 - Media release
- Closing the gap and crossing the threshold – A brighter future for Aboriginal Canadians is within reachJune 21, 2011 - Commentary
- Native education reform plannedDecember 13, 2010 - Commentary
A conversation with Indigenous high school students held on December 12, 2011.
Partners for a brighter future
Submission to the National Panel on First Nations' Elementary and Secondary Education
Answering the call
Read the 2010 directory of Canadian university programs and services for Aboriginal students.
Aboriginal education
Canada’s universities recognize that tremendous opportunities exist – for Aboriginal Canadians and for the country – if we increase access to university education for Aboriginal Canadians.
Canada also needs more university graduates to meet labour-market demands. By 2030, the population over the age of 65 will double. Retiring baby boomers will create greater demand for health, legal and social services. Aboriginal Canadians can help meet this demand. They are the fastest-growing segment of the Canadian population. Yet only eight percent of Aboriginal Canadians have a university degree, compared to 23 percent of non-Aboriginal Canadians.
Increasing access to education for Aboriginal Canadians is a win-win situation.
Quick facts
- The Canadian Aboriginal population grew by 47 percent between 1996 and 2006 (almost six times faster than the non-aboriginal population which grew by 8 percent).
- Only 8 percent of Aboriginal people aged 25 to 64 in Canada have a university degree while 23 percent of non-Aboriginals of the same age group have a university degree.
- More than one-third of Aboriginal people have not completed high school.
- Federal funding to support Aboriginal students attending a postsecondary institution has increased at only two percent a year since 1996 while tuition has increased at an average of 4.4 percent a year since 1998.
- Federal PSE funding supports about 22,000 Aboriginal students attending college and university a year.
