Indigenous population in Thunder Bay two to four times larger than census data, new study says

Results from a study years in the making have revealed new information about the health and demographics of Indigenous people living in Thunder Bay, Ont.

The "Our Health Counts" community-based study — developed by Well Living House, a research centre focused on Indigenous health and well-being based in Toronto, and completed jointly with Anishnawbe Mushkiki, an Indigenous health centre in Thunder Bay — collected the life stories from 830 Indigenous adults and children living in the city.

The most significant finding, according to Anishnawbe Mushkiki executive director Michael Hardy, is that the Indigenous population in Thunder Bay is two to four times larger than estimated by Statistics Canada.

While the 2016 census indicated there are 9,780 Indigenous adults living in the city, the Our Health Counts study estimated there are actually between 23,080 to 42,641 Indigenous adults. The estimate was generated in part based on the finding that only 15 per cent of Indigenous adults in Thunder Bay completed the 2016 census.

"Why that hits home to me is because when we look at these service providers in the city, the resources are stretched to the limit," Hardy told CBC's Superior Morning.

Looking at the numbers, Hardy said institutions in the city like the hospital, the police, mental health providers and housing providers likely don't have resources to address the needs of the population.

"When you have the correct numbers, you're able to then plan better as a city," he added.

Dr. Janet Smylie, a Métis family physician, director of the Well Living House and an academic at the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health, said this information fills a void of information that exists in urban centres across the country.

"First Nations, Inuit and Métis people living in cities in Canada have been left out of the counting," she said.

"It's a human right to be counted in, and it's a basic need with respect to planning services."

Wide range of data generated

A number of academics, advisors and leaders in Indigenous health gathered in a Thunder Bay hotel conference room last week to discuss the new knowledge about the urban Indigenous population in the city.

A number of fact sheets were shared, ranging from access to health care, to discrimination and experiences of racism, to mental health, housing and oral health.

While some of the data has previously been publicly shared, a number of new insights were offered:

• 70 per cent of Indigenous adults in Thunder Bay reported very good or excellent mental health, higher than the provincial average.
• 63 per cent of Indigenous adults have had a close friend or family member die by suicide.
• Two in five Indigenous adults didn't feel they received the help they needed for emotions, mental health, or substance use.
• Two-thirds of Indigenous adults have eaten traditionally gathered food in the past year, but 84 per cent want to eat more traditional foods.
• Less than 50 per cent of Indigenous adults rate their oral health as good, very good or excellent, as compared to 85 per cent of Canadian adults.
• 41 per cent of Indigenous adults speak an Indigenous language, but only six per cent use Indigenous languages most frequently at home.

Some more insights generated from the study can be found here.

While the data was the culmination of years of effort, Dr. Smylie said generating the new information is just the first step.

Now, it needs to be used.

Data must 'have legs'

"It's time to change things for Indigenous people, and this actually is a key resource that can help ensure that change matches the realities and lived experiences of First Nations people here in Thunder Bay," said Smylie.

But for the information "to have legs," or to be used effectively, Smylie said it has to be shared and accepted by community leaders like the mayor and city council, and the police service.

From this sharing, evidence-based policy recommendations need to be discussed and implemented.

Thunder Bay mayor Bill Mauro said he would welcome a deputation before city council, but added it will be important the demographic data is shared with the federal government.

"When it comes to policy development and oftentimes program funding that may flow, it is of course the Canadian census that often underpins a lot of the programming that the federal government will roll out," he said.

The mayor said he thought the information may be useful when submitting funding applications to higher levels of government.

Mauro added, "I think, certainly in terms of this population, they do benefit already from a lot of the programming that the city has in place … even if not solely targeting this population."

Listen to the CBC Superior Morning's full interview with Dr. Janet Smylie and Michael Hardy here: