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Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS)
The purpose of the Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS) is to provide data on the social and economic conditions of Aboriginal people in Canada. More specifically, its purpose is to identify the needs of Aboriginal people and focus on issues such as education, employment, health, language, income, housing and mobility.
Detailed information for 2012
Data release – It is anticipated that the results of the survey will be available in Fall 2013.
Description
The Aboriginal Peoples Survey is a national survey of Aboriginal peoples (First Nations peoples living off reserve, Métis and Inuit) in Canada. The survey provides valuable data on the social and economic conditions of Aboriginal people 6 years of age and over. The APS complements other sources of information and surveys, including the Census of Population and the National Household Survey.
The APS informs policy and programming activities that are aimed at improving the well-being of Aboriginal peoples and is an important source of information for a variety of stakeholders including Aboriginal organizations, communities, service providers, researchers, governments and the general public.
The survey is being carried out by Statistics Canada with funding provided by three federal departments: Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, Health Canada and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.
Subjects
- Aboriginal peoples
- Population characteristics
Data sources and methodology
Target population
The target population includes all people living in Canada who identify themselves as First Nations, Métis or Inuit and who are aged 6 and over as of February 1, 2012. Excluded from this population are people living on reserve in the provinces and in First Nations communities in the territories.
More specifically, the target population includes:
- People who are 6 years of age as of February 1st 2012 and
- Members of the Aboriginal identity population (based on their responses to the 2011 National Household Survey). These are individuals who meet any of the following criteria:
a) Self-report as Aboriginal persons (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) or
b) Report being Status Indians (Registered or Treaty Indian) or
c) Report being members of a First Nation or Indian Band.
Excluded from the target population are:
- Individuals living on reserve in the provinces and in First Nations communities in the territories.
- People living in collective dwellings (institutions such as homes for the aged, hospitals or prisons).
Instrument design
Although the 2012 APS has been redesigned to be thematic, it is based on previous cycles of the APS which were developed in collaboration with national Aboriginal organizations. Following the release of data from the 2006 APS, a content review was conducted to ensure the future relevance of existing APS questions to key stakeholders and to identify potential data gaps. The review brought together expertise from a diverse group of researchers and subject matter experts from within and outside of Statistics Canada. New questions were developed and added for 2012 to place greater emphasis on education and employment.
Prior to 2012, the APS used a paper questionnaire format. The questions in the 2012 APS have been designed for use in a computer assisted interviewing (CAI) environment which incorporates many features that serve to maximize the quality of data collection. It enables more complex question flows to be built in as well as on-line edits which identify logical inconsistencies that can be corrected by interviewers at the time of the interview.
Qualitative testing of the survey questionnaire was carried out by Statistics Canada's Questionnaire Design Resource Centre (QDRC) with the help of First Nations people, Métis and Inuit across Canada. Adjustments were made to question wording and flows based on those results. Question wording adheres as closely as possibly to questions established by the Harmonized Content Committee at Statistics Canada. This increases opportunities to compare responses between Statistics Canada surveys.
Sampling
This is a sample survey with a cross-sectional design.
The sample size is 50,000 individuals.
The APS survey frame is drawn from the 2011 National Household Survey (NHS). This frame includes all persons who indicated on the NHS questionnaire that they are part of our target population and/or people who have Aboriginal ancestry.
While persons who declared that they have Aboriginal ancestry but did not declare an Aboriginal identity in the NHS are out of scope for the APS, a sample of these respondents was nevertheless drawn because experience has shown that many respondents, when surveyed by an interviewer, will declare an Aboriginal identity.
Ideally, the domain of estimation for the APS (target groups for estimation) consists of cross-tabulating the province or territory, the Aboriginal group and the education group. The four education groups include: elementary school students (grades 1 to 6), high school students (grades 7 to 12), high school graduates and school leavers. In practice, the target domains are created by certain groupings within these cross-tabulations. For example, the Atlantic provinces form one region. Aboriginal groups are combined in the Atlantic region, Quebec, Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Target estimates for high school graduates and school leavers are for those under 45 years of age, even though those 45 and older are also part of the sample.
Data sources
Data collection for this reference period: 2012-02-06 – 2012-06-30
Responding to this survey is voluntary.
Data are collected directly from survey respondents and derived from other Statistics Canada surveys.
In order to reduce the number of questions, Statistics Canada plans to combine information collected during the 2011 National Household Survey to the information provided during the interview. We may also add information from other surveys or administrative data sources.
Data on Aboriginal people aged 18 years or older are collected directly from the respondents. For children between 15 and 17 years of age, information is obtained directly from them only if prior consent is received from a parent or guardian. Otherwise, as in the case of children aged 6 to 14 years, the data are collected from a parent or guardian.
The reference date for age of respondent in the APS is February 1, 2012, corresponding roughly to the beginning of data collection. The age of the respondent is used to select the sample. The reference date for other sections of the survey depend on the subject matter of the question. For example, the income questions refer to the period leading up to December 31, 2011, the mental health questions refer to the past month and the labour market activity questions refer to the past week.
Two computer-assisted interview methods are being used for this survey: Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI) and Computer Assisted Personal Interviews (CAPI). In most regions, CATI is used for individuals for whom there is a telephone number on the sample file. CAPI is used for individuals who do not have a telephone number or who cannot be contacted by telephone even when a number is available. In the territories, the northern parts of many provinces and some Inuit communities there may be very few telephone numbers available. In these cases, only personal interviews are conducted.
View the Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s)
Disclosure control
Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any data which would divulge information obtained under the Statistics Act that relates to any identifiable person, business or organization without the prior knowledge or the consent in writing of that person, business or organization. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.
Data based on a count of 10 or fewer respondents were suppressed to ensure confidentiality of respondents. To further reduce risks of disclosures, all estimates were rounded to the nearest 10 units.
Documentation
