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Aboriginal People in Manitoba 2000 Chapter 1 : Demographics

Manitoba has the highest rate of teen pregnancy in Canada. But rates vary dramatically within Manitoba and are much higher than average for Status Indians and Metis. 45% of unmarried adolescent mothers in Manitoba are Aboriginal, with proportions as high as 75% in the northern Norman/Thompson region and 70% in central Winnipeg.²⁵

Between 1980 and 1994, the teen birth rate for on and off-reserve Status Indians in Manitoba dropped from 32.4% of live births to 23.0%. The teen birth rate for the non-First Nation population also fell, from 10.4% to 7.5%. Therefore the gap has not narrowed significantly and the First Nations teen birth rate remains approximately three times the level for other citizens. This fact, more than any other, explains the maintenance of high birth rates in the face of sharp declines in fertility rates for First Nations women. Aboriginal generations are closer together in age.

Over 23% of all births in the First Nations population between 1990 and 1994 were to teen mothers less than 20 years of age. 90% of these teen births were to women who were single. Manitoba Family Services and Housing estimates that approximately 90% of adolescent women who carry their pregnancies to term are keeping their babies. Therefore almost 20% of First Nations children are currently born into the homes of single parents less than 20 years of age.

Teen parenthood is associated with low income status. The Ontario Health Survey found that 18% of young women aged 16-19 from low income families had been pregnant in the past five years, compared to 4% of young women from higher income families. The Canadian Council on Social Development sums it up in this way:²⁶

Young women giving birth in their teens represent a significant risk to their babies and to their own life chances. They often do not have the necessary resources – especially financial resources – to provide a secure and stable environment for their children. And having children while still a teen interrupts the young woman’s own development. Young mothers often drop out of school to care for their babies, thus limiting their future options in the labour market. …Poor teen mothers have poor children and the cycle continues.