What percentage of Aboriginal people are First Nations?

The Canadian citizenship oath explicitly identifies three Aboriginal groups recognized by the Constitution of Canada: First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. Every newcomer who becomes a Canadian citizen swears to faithfully observe the laws of Canada, "Including the Constitution Which recognizes and affirms The Aboriginal and treaty rights of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples." This constitutional recognition is foundational to Canadian identity, and the oath places the acknowledgement of Aboriginal and treaty rights at the heart of what it means to be a Canadian.

Among these three constitutionally recognized Aboriginal populations, approximately 65% identify as First Nations, making First Nations the largest of the three groups by a significant margin. The remaining roughly 35% is composed of Inuit and Métis peoples combined. While each of the three groups holds a distinct cultural, linguistic, and historical identity, the Constitution treats them collectively as Aboriginal peoples whose treaty and other rights are protected.

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, entrenched in the Constitution in 1982, provides specific protection under "Aboriginal Peoples' Rights": the rights guaranteed in the Charter "will not adversely affect any treaty or other rights or freedoms of Aboriginal peoples." This protective clause ensures that the broader rights and freedoms granted to all Canadians by the Charter cannot be used to erode pre-existing treaty arrangements, ancestral rights, or other freedoms historically held by First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples — a principle every Canadian citizen formally honours through the oath.

Understanding the relative size of Canada's three Aboriginal groups matters for the citizenship test because new Canadians explicitly pledge in the citizenship oath to uphold the Constitution that recognizes and affirms the rights of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. Knowing that 65% of Aboriginal people are First Nations places the proportions in proper perspective and avoids confusion between the three distinct groups. This fact also connects to several other test topics: the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and its Aboriginal Peoples' Rights protection, the constitutional amendment of 1982, and the broader Canadian responsibility to respect treaty rights and the diverse heritage that defines our country.