Benchmarking the Indigenous Economy

In order to achieve the NIEDB’s vision of economic equality between Indigenous people in Canada and other Canadians, Indigenous people need to know where we are coming from, how we are doing, and where we need to go.

The Aboriginal Economic Benchmarking Report, published in 2012, was the first document to assemble a comprehensive group of indicators and to establish benchmarks to measure the social and economic well-being for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. The report provided evidence that Indigenous people in Canada are making measurable progress towards improving their economic outcomes in areas such as employment and income. The report sets out bold ten-year targets to help achieve the Board’s vision and advance opportunities for First Nation, Inuit, and Métis economic development.

In 2015, the NIEDB released the Aboriginal Economic Progress Report, the first update to the Aboriginal Economic Benchmarking Report, that tracks the progress and success of Indigenous people in Canada using the indicators in the Benchmarking Report. However, three years after the initial report, the gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians remain large.

The second Indigenous Economic Progress Report was launched in 2019. It is meant to track and assess advancements made between 2012 and 2019 to closing the gaps. The Report concludes that while the overall economic outcomes for Indigenous peoples are improving in Canada, this is only to varying, and sometimes small degrees. Given the pace of improvements, outcomes are not on track to meet the 2022 targets of economic parity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians. It is the NIEDB’s belief that more efforts by all are required to make these results attainable.