--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/research/economic-activity-of-the-on-reserve-aboriginal-identity-population-in-canada-gross-domestic-product-estimates-for-indian-reserves-2000-and-2005/" title: "Economic Activity of the On-Reserve Aboriginal Identity Population in Canada: Gross Domestic Product Estimates for Indian Reserves, 2000 and 2005" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-02T13:24:58+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-02T13:24:58+00:00" post_type: "research" summary: "" post_tag: - "Aboriginal" - "Canada" - "economic activity" - "employment" - "First Nations" - "GDP" - "Indian reserves" - "on-reserve" country_focus: - "Canada" province_region: - "National" research_theme: - "Indigenous Economic Development" - "Productivity and Economic Measurement" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/old-reports_hero_banner_bg.webp" status: "publish" --- # Economic Activity of the On-Reserve Aboriginal Identity Population in Canada: Gross Domestic Product Estimates for Indian Reserves, 2000 and 2005 Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/research/economic-activity-of-the-on-reserve-aboriginal-identity-population-in-canada-gross-domestic-product-estimates-for-indian-reserves-2000-and-2005/ # Economic Activity of the On-Reserve Aboriginal Identity Population in Canada: Gross Domestic Product Estimates for Indian Reserves, 2000 and 2005 [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2011-08-1.pdf) Cite this report × Cite this report as: Tsiroulnitchenko, Evguenia, and Elspeth Hazell. 2011. “Economic Activity of the On-Reserve Aboriginal Identity Population in Canada: Gross Domestic Product Estimates for Indian Reserves, 2000 and 2005.” CSLS Research Report 2011-08. Ottawa: Centre for the Study of Living Standards. https://csls.ca/research/economic-activity-of-the-on-reserve-aboriginal-identity-population-in-canada-gross-domestic-product-estimates-for-indian-reserves-2000-and-2005/ ## Authors: - Evguenia Tsiroulnitchenko Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) - Elspeth Hazell Levy Economics Institute of Bard College ## Report 2011-08 August 2011 83 pages ## Related research [Measuring the Appropriate Outcomes for Better Decision-Making: A Framework to Guide the Analysis of Health Policy Matthew Calver March 2016 | Report 2016-03 | 132 pages](https://csls.ca/research/measuring-the-appropriate-outcomes-for-better-decision-making-a-framework-to-guide-the-analysis-of-health-policy-2016-03/) [Living Standards Domain of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing Andrew Sharpe, Christopher Ross November 2011 | Report 2011-17 | 124 pages](https://csls.ca/research/living-standards-domain-of-the-canadian-index-of-wellbeing-2011-17/) [Closing the First Nations Education Gap in Canada: Assessing Progress and Estimating the Economic Benefits — An Update Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) February 2023 | Report 2023-01 | 101 pages](https://csls.ca/research/closing-the-first-nations-education-gap-in-canada-assessing-progress-and-estimating-the-economic-benefits-an-update-2023-01/) [Productivity: Key to Economic Success Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) March 1998 | Report 1998-01 | 99 pages](https://csls.ca/research/productivity-key-to-economic-success/) [Apprenticeship in Canada: A Training System Under Siege? 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Two estimation approaches are used in the analysis. The first, which is the focus of this report, is a “top-down approach” based on provincial/territorial full year, full-time and part-year/part-time employment and average earnings data for the onreserve Aboriginal population from the 2001 and 2006 Census. Estimates are also developed using a second, “bottom-up” approach that employs community-level average earnings and employment data from the 2006 Aboriginal Population Profiles. This second approach results in the development of reserve-specific GDP estimates for those reserves which had the required data available. The most notable finding of this report is that the on-reserve Aboriginal population in Canada, despite accounting for 0.99 per cent of the general Canadian population in 2006, accounted for just 0.30 per cent of national GDP in 2005. Ce rapport élabore des estimations du produit intérieur brut (PIB) pour les réserves du Canada en estimant les revenus totaux des réserves et en multipliant ces résultats par la part nationale des revenus totaux dans le PIB fondé sur le revenu. Deux approches d’estimation sont utilisées dans l’analyse. La première, qui constitue l’objet principal de ce rapport, est une « approche descendante » fondée sur les données d’emploi à temps plein et à temps partiel, pour l’année complète et partielle, ainsi que sur les revenus moyens de la population autochtone en réserve, par province et territoire, tirées des recensements de 2001 et de 2006. Des estimations sont également élaborées au moyen d’une seconde approche, dite « ascendante », qui utilise des données communautaires sur les revenus moyens et l’emploi tirées des Profils de la population autochtone de 2006. Cette seconde approche permet d’élaborer des estimations du PIB propres à chaque réserve pour celles disposant des données nécessaires. Le constat le plus notable de ce rapport est que la population autochtone vivant en réserve au Canada, bien qu’elle représentait 0,99 % de la population canadienne générale en 2006, ne représentait que 0,30 % du PIB national en 2005. [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2011-08-1.pdf)