Site MenuElectoral Participation of Aboriginals in Canada
Appendix A Sampling and Weighting Issues
The question on the GSS 17 used to identify Aboriginal respondents asks about ethnic ancestry, allowing respondents to offer up to four responses (essentially the same as the question used on the census about ethnic ancestry). The representation of those with at least some Aboriginal ancestry on the GSS is closely aligned with population estimates. The total percentage reporting some aboriginal ancestry on the GSS is 5.3%, nearly identical to the 2006 census figure of 5.4% (Statistics Canada 2008a).
This categorization does, however, represent a broad definition of 'Aboriginal'. The more relevant demarcation, given the supposition that issues of detachment and disaffection are critical to explaining Aboriginal electoral participation, is those who self-identify as Aboriginal – 3.8% of the Canadian population, according to the 2006 census (Statistics Canada 2008b). Since there was no self-identification question on the GSS, another approach was used to whittle down the sample to a more limited group likely to identify as Aboriginal. One option was to focus on those citing Aboriginal as their only response to the ethnic ancestry question. This, however, is probably too narrow an approach, as census data (Statistics Canada 2008c) reveal that only 2.0% of the Canadian population fall into this category (the figure for the GSS is again nearly identical at 1.9%). The alternative approach which we adopted was to focus on those who indicated Aboriginal ancestry as their first response – 3.1% of the GSS sample, or 771 respondents in all.
For reasons that are not entirely clear, the distribution of these respondents across the Canadian regions deviates somewhat from population figures. In particular, there are more Aboriginal respondents from Quebec than would be expected and fewer from other regions of the country (Table A1). To compensate for this, a set of weights was calculated to bring the provincial distribution of Aboriginal respondents in line with population estimates for those with Aboriginal ancestry based on 2006 census data. It is also the case – again for reasons unclear – that the sample slightly over-represents Aboriginal women (who constitute 56.5% of the sample). Consequently, another weighting factor was applied to bring the sample in line with the Aboriginal population ratio of 51.6% women to 48.4% men.
| Atlantic | Quebec | Ontario | Man/Sask | Alta/BC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| population (2006 census) | 7.7% | 16.3% | 24.9% | 20.7% | 30.5% |
| GSS sample | 5.5% | 34.3% | 19.9% | 16.0% | 24.4% |
Sources: Statistics Canada 2008a; General Social Survey 17, 2003.
With these weights in place (in addition to a general weight provided by Statistics Canada to ensure accurate population estimates), the urban/rural split among Aboriginal respondents is 59.5% to 40.5%.Footnote 15 This is nearly identical to the urban/rural split from the 2006 census based on those reporting any Aboriginal ancestry: 59.7% to 40.3% (Statistics Canada 2008a). Figures from the same census based on Aboriginal identification rather than ancestry indicate an urban/rural split of 53.2% to 46.8% (Statistics Canada 2008b) – reasonably close to our GSS sample.Footnote 16
The more significant contrast, with respect to place of residence, lies in the comparison to Canada's non-Aboriginal population. In the GSS sample, 81.0% of non-Aboriginal respondents were living in urban areas and only 19.0% in rural areas.
Return to source of Footnote 15 The urban figure includes those living in Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) and Census Agglomerations (CAs). The former is one or more adjacent municipalities centred on an urban core of 100,000 or more, the latter one or more adjacent municipalities centred on an urban core of 10,000 or more. Thus, the rural figure includes those living in small towns (in keeping with the approach used by Statistics Canada in its demarcation of urban and rural residents).
Return to source of Footnote 16 In the census data, the categories used are urban, rural and on reserve. In census figures cited above, the latter are included with the rural population.