NHS Focus on Geography Series – Saskatchewan

Demographic characteristics of Aboriginal people

In 2011, 15.6% (157,740) of the population of Saskatchewan had an Aboriginal identity.^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 1} Of those, 65.4% (103,205) reported a First Nations identity^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 2} only, 33.3% (52,450) reported a Métis identity only and 0.2% (290) reported an Inuit identity only. An additional 1,120, or 0.7%, reported other Aboriginal identities and 670, or 0.4%, reported more than one Aboriginal identity.

Table 1 – Population by Aboriginal identity, Saskatchewan, Canada

In Saskatchewan, the Aboriginal population is younger than the non-Aboriginal population. In 2011, the median age of the Aboriginal population was 22.6 years compared to 40.9 for the non-Aboriginal population. The median age is the age where exactly one-half of the population is older and the other half is younger.

The median age and age distribution of First Nations people, Métis and Inuit are shown in table 2.

Table 2 – Age distribution and median age by Aboriginal identity, Saskatchewan, Canada

Living arrangements of Aboriginal children

In Saskatchewan, 40.4% of Aboriginal children aged 14 and under lived in a family^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 3} with both their parents (biological or adoptive) and 42.5% lived in a lone-parent family.^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 4} Another 8.3% were stepchildren,^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 5} 3.8% were grandchildren living in a skip-generation family,^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 6} 3.2% were foster children^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 7} and 1.8% were children living with other relatives.

Living arrangements of First Nations, Métis and Inuit children aged 14 and under are illustrated in table 3.

Table 3 – Percentage distribution of the population aged 14 and under by living arrangement for selected Aboriginal identity categories, Saskatchewan

Language and Aboriginal peoples

In Saskatchewan, 38,380 Aboriginal people, or 24.3% of the population who had an Aboriginal identity, responded that they were able to conduct a conversation in an Aboriginal language. In 2011, the Aboriginal languages most frequently reported by Aboriginal people were: Cree languages (27,470), Dene (8,845) and Ojibway (1,485).

In 2011, 20.8% of the Aboriginal identity population reported an Aboriginal language as mother tongue, defined as the first language learned at home in childhood and still understood.

As well, 19.2% of Aboriginal people reported speaking an Aboriginal language at home: 10.9% spoke it most often while another 8.4% spoke it on a regular basis.

Linguistic characteristics of First Nations people, Métis and Inuit are shown in tables 4 to 6.

Table 4 – Number and proportion of Aboriginal identity population, First Nations people, Métis and Inuit for selected Aboriginal language indicators, Saskatchewan

In Saskatchewan, 96.8% of the Aboriginal identity population reported that they were able to conduct a conversation only in English or only in French. Additionally, 2.7% of Aboriginal people reported that they were able to conduct a conversation in both of Canada's official languages. The other 0.4%, or 670, reported that they were not able to conduct a conversation in either of these two languages.

Table 5 – Percentage distribution of the population by knowledge of official languages for selected Aboriginal identity categories, Saskatchewan

In Saskatchewan, among the 38,380 Aboriginal people who reported being able to conduct a conversation in an Aboriginal language, 79.0% reported that same language as their mother tongue. The other 21.1% reported a different language, such as English or French, as mother tongue, which suggests these individuals have acquired an Aboriginal language as a second language.

On the other hand, among the 32,765 Aboriginal people who reported an Aboriginal language as mother tongue, 7.5% could no longer conduct a conversation in this language, despite the fact that they still understand it.

Table 6 – Population who reported an ability to conduct a conversation in an Aboriginal language that is not their mother tongue and population who reported an Aboriginal mother tongue but who could not conduct a conversation in that language, for selected Aboriginal identity categories, Saskatchewan

Immigrant population

According to the 2011 National Household Survey (NHS), 68,780 (6.8%) of the population of Saskatchewan were foreign-born (immigrants), 931,710 (92.4%) were Canadian-born (non-immigrants) and 8,275 (0.8%) were non-permanent residents.^{Ethnocultural Footnote 1} In comparison, the proportion of the population of Canada who were immigrants was 20.6%, 78.3% were non-immigrants, and 1.1% were non-permanent residents.

Figure 1 Percentage of Canadian born (non-immigrants), foreign born (immigrants) and non permanent residents in Saskatchewan

Figure 1 Percentage of Canadian born (non-immigrants), foreign born (immigrants) and non permanent residents in Saskatchewan

Of the immigrants living in Saskatchewan in 2011, 26,925 came to Canada between 2006 and 2011. These recent immigrants made up 39.1% of the immigrants in the province.

The three most common countries of birth of immigrants living in Saskatchewan were: Philippines (accounting for 18.6% of the immigrant population in Saskatchewan), United Kingdom (10.7%) and United States (7.3%). In comparison, the top three countries of birth of immigrants living in Canada were: India (accounting for 8.1% of the immigrant population in Canada), China (8.1%) and United Kingdom (7.9%).

Table 1 – Immigrants by country of birth, Saskatchewan, Canada

In 2011, among Saskatchewan's immigrant population, 62.0% spoke English and/or French most often at home. Meanwhile, the three most frequently reported non-official languages spoken most often at home by immigrants in Saskatchewan were Tagalog (Pilipino,Filipino), Chinese, n.o.s. and Urdu. This compared to the top three non-official languages in Canada, which were Cantonese, Panjabi (Punjabi) and Chinese, n.o.s..^{Ethnocultural Footnote 2}

Table 2 – Immigrants by non-official languages spoken most often at home, Saskatchewan, Canada

The median age of immigrants in Saskatchewan was 41.6 years in 2011, compared to 47.4 years for the immigrant population at the national level.

Visible minority population and ethnic origins

The 2011 NHS estimated that 63,275 individuals in Saskatchewan belonged to a visible minority group, accounting for 6.3% of its total population.^{Ethnocultural Footnote 1} In comparison, visible minorities comprised 19.1% of Canada's population.

The largest visible minority groups living in Saskatchewan were Filipino, South Asian and Chinese. In Canada, the three largest visible minority groups were South Asian, Chinese and Black.

The median age of the visible minority population in Saskatchewan was 29.6 years in 2011, compared to 33.4 years for the visible minority population at the national level.

Table 3 – Population showing visible minority groups, Saskatchewan, Canada

The most frequently reported ethnic origins in Saskatchewan, for people reporting either one or multiple ethnic origins, were German, English and Scottish. This compared to the top three in Canada, which were Canadian, English and French.

Table 4 – Most frequently reported ethnic origins, Saskatchewan and Canada

Religion

According to the 2011 NHS, 75.6% of the population in Saskatchewan reported a religious affiliation, while 24.4% said they had no religious affiliation.^{Ethnocultural Footnote 1} At the national level, 76.1% of the population reported a religious affiliation, while 23.9% had no religious affiliation.

The most frequently reported religious affiliation in Saskatchewan was Roman Catholic, reported by 287,190 (28.5%) of the population. Other frequently reported religions included: United Church (13.4%) and Lutheran (6.3%). In comparison, the most frequently reported religions in Canada were: Roman Catholic (reported by 38.7% of the population of Canada), United Church (6.1%) and Anglican (5.0%).

Table 5 – Most frequently reported religions, Saskatchewan, Canada

Educational attainment ^{Education Footnote 1}

In 2011, 53.3% of the 670,775 adults aged 25 years and over in Saskatchewan had completed some form of postsecondary education, compared with 59.6% at the national level.

Of the population aged 25 years and over in Saskatchewan, 22.0% had a university certificate or degree. An additional 17.6% had a college diploma and 13.7% had a trades certificate.

The share of the adult population that had completed a high school diploma as their highest level of educational attainment was 25.8%, and 20.9% had completed neither high school nor any postsecondary certificates, diplomas or degrees.

Table 1 – Population aged 25 and over by highest level of educational attainment^{Education Footnote 1}, Saskatchewan, Canada

Overall, successive generations of Canadians have been completing high school and attaining postsecondary qualifications in increasing proportions. In 2011, 41.7% of Canadians aged 65 years and over had a postsecondary credential; this compares with 69.5% among adults between the ages of 25 and 44. As well, 35.7% of those aged 65 years and over had not completed any certificate, diploma or degree compared with 9.5% of individuals aged 25 to 44.

In Saskatchewan, 38.4% of those aged 65 years and over had a postsecondary credential, compared to 61.4% of adults aged 25 to 44; 41.4% of individuals aged 65 years and over had no certificate, diploma or degree, compared to 12.7% of 25 to 44 year-olds.

Saskatchewan – Proportion of the population aged 25 years and over by level of educational attainment and age groups

Saskatchewan – Proportion of the population aged 25 years and over by level of educational attainment and age groups

Major field of study

Table 2 – Most common fields of study^{Education Footnote 9} for the population aged 25 years and over with postsecondary qualifications by level of educational attainment^{Education Footnote 1}, Saskatchewan, Canada

Location of study^{Education Footnote 11}

In 2011, there were 357,655 residents of Saskatchewan aged 25 years and over with postsecondary credentials. Of these graduates, 74.5% had studied in Saskatchewan, 17.0% had studied in another province or territory and 8.5% had studied outside Canada. Nationally, 72.5% of graduates had studied in the same province/territory in which they lived in 2011, 10.4% had studied in another province or territory and 17.1% had studied outside Canada.

In all provinces, individuals with trades or college certificates were more likely than those with university credentials to have earned their highest certificate, diploma or degree in the province in which they lived in 2011.

Table 3 – Population aged 25 years and over with postsecondary qualifications by location of study and by level of educational attainment, Saskatchewan

Labour

In Saskatchewan, 529,100 people were employed and 33,210 were unemployed for a total labour force of 562,305 in May 2011. The employment rate was at 65.1% and the unemployment rate was at 5.9%.

Table 1 Total population aged 15 years and over by labour force status, Saskatchewan, Canada

Within Saskatchewan, 15.0% of the employed labour force was aged 15 to 24 and 16.1% was aged 55 to 64. This compares to 13.1% and 15.3% respectively for Canada.

Table 2 Employed labour force by age groups, Saskatchewan, Canada

Within Saskatchewan, the top occupations were: Managers in agriculture; Retail salespersons; Transport truck drivers. For Canada as a whole the top occupations were: Retail salespersons; Retail and wholesale trade managers; Administrative assistants.

Table 3 Top occupations for the employed labour force, Saskatchewan, Canada

Within Saskatchewan, the top industries were: Farms (except aquaculture); Elementary and secondary schools; Hospitals. For Canada as a whole the top industries were: Elementary and secondary schools; Hospitals; Grocery stores.

Table 4 Top industries for the employed labour force, Saskatchewan, Canada

The number of self-employed in Saskatchewan amounted to 80,555 or 15.2% of all total employed workers.

Table 5 Employed labour force by class of workers, Saskatchewan, Canada

In 2011, 2.8% of commuters within the province used public transit to get to work. This compares to a national level of 12.0%. 81.4% of the population used a car, truck or van as a driver, while 6.1% used a car, truck or van as a passenger. The average commuting time to work in the province was 18.5 minutes, this compares to a national commuting time of 25.4 minutes.

Within Saskatchewan, 76.4% of the employed labour force aged 15 years and over worked at their usual place, 11.2% worked at home and 12.2% had no fixed workplace address.

Table 6 Employed labour force by mode of transportation, Saskatchewan, Canada

Table 7 Average commuting duration for the employed labour force, Saskatchewan, Canada

Table 8 Employed Labour force by time leaving for work, Saskatchewan, Canada

Table 9 Employed labour force by place of work status, Saskatchewan, Canada

In Saskatchewan, 98.9% (597,065) of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported English only as the language used most often at work, 0.3% (1,900) reported French only and 0.1% (380) said they used both official languages (English and French) equally. In addition, 0.2% of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported using an official language and a non-official language equally most often at work and 0.6% a non-official language only.

Furthermore, 0.5% (3,100) of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported working in English on a regular basis, 0.6% (3,595) in French on a regular basis and 0.0% (0) in the country's two official languages on a regular basis. In addition, 0.1% (320) of of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported using an official language and a non-official language on a regular basis at work and 1.6% (9,895) a non-official language only.

In Canada, 76.4% (14,622,905) of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported English only as the language used most often at work, 20.0% (3,831,535) reported French only and 1.7 (317,135) said they used both official languages (English and French) equally. Furthermore, 0.6% of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported using an official language and a non-official language equally most often at work.

As for the language used at work on a regular basis in Canada, the proportions are as follows: 6.0% (1,148,980) reported using English; 3.4% (645,075) use French; 0.0% (1,925) use both official languages; 0.2% (34,290) reported using an official language and a non-official language; and 2.2% (411,735) a non-official language only.

Table 10 Languages used at work, Saskatchewan, Canada

In Saskatchewan, the non-official languages most used, most often or regularly, with or without an official language, are Cree languages, Dene and Tagalog (Pilipino,Filipino), which account respectively for 0.5% (5,790), 0.1% (1,445) and 0.1% (1,355) of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011.

In Canada, the non-official languages most used, most often or regularly, with or without an official language, are Chinese languages, Spanish and Panjabi (Punjabi), which account respectively for 1.2% (224,195), 0.4% (82,050) and 0.4% (71,430) of the population aged 15 years and older who worked in 2010 or 2011.

Table 11 Non-official languages used at work, Saskatchewan, Canada

Income composition

The total income for the population in private households can be broken down into two basic components: market income^{Income Footnote 1} and government transfers.^{Income Footnote 2} In Saskatchewan, 88.5% of total income was from market income in 2010 and 11.5% was from government transfers. (Aggregate total income for Saskatchewan was 31.7 billion dollars in 2010.)

Figure 1 Income composition for the population in private households in 2010

Income composition for the population in private households in 2010

Market income's main component was employment income. In Saskatchewan, it accounted for $85.40 of every $100 of market income, similar to the figure for Canada of $85.20. For the two components of employment income, wages and salaries represented $79.40 and net income from self-employment, $6.10.

The other components of market income were smaller than employment income: in Saskatchewan, investment income represented $6.10 per $100 of market income, retirement income, $6.40 and $2.00 came from other private sources of money.

The government transfers received in Saskatchewan were Canada Pension Plan or Quebec Pension Plan with $30.30 of every $100 of total government transfers received, Old Age Security (OAS) pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement ($28.50), Other income from government sources ($16.50), Child benefits ($13.80), and Employment Insurance benefits ($10.90).

Table 1 – Income composition for the population in private households in 2010, Saskatchewan, Canada

High total income

Among the Canadian population in private households aged 15 years and over, ten percent had total incomes of more than $80,400 in 2010. To be in the top five percent, Canadians needed to have a total income of slightly above $102,300 and to be in the top one percent required just over $191,100, nearly seven times the national median income of $27,800.^{Income Footnote 3}

In Saskatchewan, 5.1% percent of the population aged 15 years and over had total income that put them in the top five percent and 0.8% in the top one percent. This compared with 5.0% and 1.0% in Canada.

Table 2 – Population aged 15 years and over by total income, Saskatchewan, Canada

A national map showing the spatial distribution of persons with total income in the top five percent of persons with the highest total income is also available. Canada. Percentage of population in top five percent of total income in 2010 by 2011 census division (CD)

Employment income

Of those persons with employment income in Saskatchewan, 52.4% worked full year, full time^{Income Footnote 4} in 2010 compared to 50.3% in Canada. The median employment income was $46,304 for these workers ($47,868 for those in Canada).

The top three most common occupations for those working full-year full-time in 2010 in Saskatchewan were Managers in agriculture; Retail and wholesale trade managers; and Retail salespersons.

Table 3 – Median earnings of the most common full-year, full-time occupations in 2010, Saskatchewan, Canada

Family income

The median after-tax income of economic families in Saskatchewan in 2010 was $68,046, the median for couple families was $73,543 and for lone-parent families, $40,176. For persons not in economic families (persons living alone or with non relatives only), the median after-tax income was $26,652.

These compare to the medians in Canada of $67,044 for after-tax family income of all economic families, $72,356 for couple families, $42,401 for lone-parent families and $25,761 for persons living alone or without relatives.

Table 4 – Median after-tax income in 2010 for economic families and persons not in economic families, Saskatchewan, Canada

Figure 2 Median after-tax income in 2010 for Saskatchewan and Canada

Median after-tax income in 2010 for Saskatchewan and Canada

Families came in different sizes and larger families may have benefited from pooling of resources and economies of scale. In Saskatchewan, based on their after-tax income adjusted for family size, 49.6% of the population was in the top half of the income distribution, similar to the rate of 50.0% in Canada.

In Saskatchewan, the percentage of the population in the lowest income decile group^{Income Footnote 6} at 11.0% was higher than in Canada (10.0%). The percentage of the population in the highest decile group was 9.6%, similar to that in Canada (10.0%).

Table 5 – Population in private households by adjusted after-tax family income in 2010, Saskatchewan, Canada

Low income^{Income Footnote 7}

In the NHS, a relative measure is used to classify persons by income status: the low-income measure based on after-tax income (LIM-AT). For this measure, the income threshold is half the Canadian median of after-tax household income. The income has been adjusted to account for household size. Persons in households with a household income below this threshold^{Income Footnote 8} were considered to be in low income.

Based on the after-tax income low-income measure, the proportion of the population in low income in Saskatchewan was 14.0%, below the rate of 14.9% observed in Canada. In Saskatchewan, compared to the population of all ages, for persons under 18, the rate was higher (17.8%) and for the population aged 65 years and over, it was higher at 16.1%.

Table 6 – Income status based on after-tax low-income measure (LIM-AT) in 2010, Saskatchewan, Canada

A map showing the proportion of the population in low income within Prairies Region is also available.

Housing

The number of households in Saskatchewan was 409,570. The homeownership rate in Saskatchewan was 72.6%, which was higher than the national homeownership rate of 69.0%.

Canada, provinces and territories – Homeownership rate in 2011

Canada, provinces and territories – Homeownership rate in 2011

Table 1 – Housing tenure for all households, Canada, provinces and territories

Saskatchewan – Affordability^{Housing Footnote 1}

Households in Saskatchewan that paid 30% or more of household total income toward shelter costs represented 20.4% of non-farm, non-reserve households with total income greater than zero. This proportion was lower than the national proportion (25.2%).

A lower proportion of owner households paid 30% or more compared to tenant households in Saskatchewan (12.9% for owners versus 41.0% for renters).

Households in Saskatchewan paid an average monthly shelter cost of $915 – which was lower than the national amount of $1,050. The average monthly shelter cost for tenant households was $837. This was lower than the average monthly shelter cost for owner households of $943.

Table 2 – Housing affordability for non-farm, non-reserve households, Saskatchewan, Canada

Saskatchewan – Need for major repairs^{Housing Footnote 2}

In Saskatchewan, 10.7% of households reported living in dwellings that required major repairs. This was higher than the national proportion of 7.4%. The proportion of households reporting major repairs requirements was lower for owners than renters (9.5% for owner-occupied dwellings and 10.2% for renter-occupied dwellings).

Table 3 – Need for major repairs by housing tenure, Saskatchewan, Canada

Saskatchewan – Suitability

In Saskatchewan, 5.1% of households in Saskatchewan lived in dwellings that were not suitable; that is, the dwelling was crowded because there were not enough bedrooms based on the National Occupancy Standard.^{Housing Footnote 3} This was lower than the national proportion of 6.0%. The proportion of households in dwellings that were not suitable was lower for owners than renters (2.5% owner households and 9.7% for renter households).

Table 4 – Housing suitability by housing tenure, Saskatchewan, Canada

Related data

• 2011 NHS Profile – Saskatchewan
• 2011 NHS Data Tables – Saskatchewan
  • Aboriginal Peoples
  • Immigration and Ethnocultural Diversity
  • Mobility and Migration
  • Education and Labour
  • Income and Housing
• 2011 Census Focus on Geography Series – Saskatchewan