The sixth release of data from the 2016 Census is putting a focus on the Aboriginal population, along with immigrants and whether people own or rent their homes.

And nationwide, the numbers spell out a trend of more First Nations people but they’re not taking in much cash.

Stats Canada says Canada’s Aboriginal population has grown by 42.5 per cent since 2006 to nearly 1.7 million—a growth rate more than four times that of the non-Indigenous masses.

But perhaps more stark are the underlying numbers on income and housing.

Median personal income for Aboriginal people is about $9,000 less a year compared with people in the rest of the country, while one in five lived in a dwelling in need of “major repairs” in 2016, compared with six per cent of the non-Indigenous population.

Looking at Timmins data, the Aboriginal population has risen (from 3,260 to 4,715) but the overall percentage in relation to the rest of the local population has dropped from 12.97 per cent to 8.74 per cent.

Meantime, immigration numbers show those born outside of the country make up about 22 per cent of Canada’s population.

The census counted over 1.2 million new immigrants who permanently settled in Canada between 2011 and 2016, 3.5 per cent of the total population last year.

Asia, including the Middle East, remains the largest source of recent immigrants to Canada at 61.8 per cent.

In Timmins, 1,390 people identify in this group with 165 people settling between 2011 and 2016.

The 1,390 people represent 3.4 per cent of the population, slightly under the nationwide percentage.

The majority come from Italy (215), United Kingdom (175), Germany (105), the United States (105) and the Philippines (100).

The third set of data from today’s release indicates more than two-thirds of households in Canada owned their home last year, a rate that’s held relatively steady over the past decade after steadily increasing between 1991 and 2006.

The 2016 data says just over 9.5-million households owned their home.

In Timmins, they list out of the 17,740 homes, 12,090 are occupied by the home owner—or 68.2 per cent—and is a 1.4 per cent increase from 2006.

1,505 of local homes are listed as in need of “major repairs.”

CLICK HERE for the Stats Canada website with all the latest data.

(With files from The Canadian Press)

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