Initial results from a pilot-project developed by Statistics Canada shed light on the economic contribution of Indigenous peoples to the Canadian economy. The estimates are available for the years 2012 through 2020.

Keeping in mind that it was dampened by the effects of the pandemic, GDP* attributable to Indigenous peoples in Canada in 2020 was $48.9 billion.

Prior to the pandemic, Indigenous GDP went from $41.7 billion in 2012 to $54.1 billion in 2019 with growth occurring in almost all industries.

In Alberta, the GDP attributable to Indigenous peoples in 2020 was $9.6 billion or about 20% of the national total.

As was the case in Canada as a whole, Indigenous GDP in Alberta grew every year from 2012 to 2019 before contracting during the pandemic in 2020.

Indigenous GDP in Alberta grew from $8.4 billion in 2012 to $10.8 billion in 2019.

Tomorrow’s Owl examines the data on jobs held by Indigenous peoples in Canada and Alberta.

*Gross domestic product (GDP) refers to the total unduplicated value of the goods and services produced in the economic territory of a country or region during a given period.

Answer to the previous trivia question: At 58,554 metric tonnes, Ontario produced the largest amount of pumpkin by weight in 2021 of any province. Alberta was sixth on the list at 1,668 metric tonnes.

Today’s trivia question: Novem is latin for nine, so why is November the eleventh month of the year?