The following chart shows the number of Aboriginal Canadians by province/territory.

Question

Ontario. 242 495
British Columbia 196 075
Alberta. 188 365
Manitoba. 175 395
Saskatchewan. 141 890
Quebec. 108 430
Nunavut. 24 920
Nova Scotia. 24 175
Newfoundland and Labrador 23 450
Northwest Territories 20 635
New Brunswick. 17 665
Yukon. 7 580
Prince Edward Island. 1 730

Source(s): Statistics Canada, Census of Population,2006.

a) What is the percentile rank of Quebec's Aboriginal population compared to the rest of the provinces and territories?

b) What province/territory has a percentile rank of 23?

Answer 1

a) To find the percentile rank of Quebec's Aboriginal population, we can calculate the total number of Aboriginal Canadians in all provinces and territories and see where Quebec's population falls in relation to that total.

Total Aboriginal population across all provinces and territories: 242,495 (Ontario) + 196,075 (British Columbia) + 188,365 (Alberta) + 175,395 (Manitoba) + 141,890 (Saskatchewan) + 108,430 (Quebec) + 24,920 (Nunavut) + 24,175 (Nova Scotia) + 23,450 (Newfoundland and Labrador) + 20,635 (Northwest Territories) + 17,665 (New Brunswick) + 7,580 (Yukon) + 1,730 (Prince Edward Island) = 1,172,315

Rank of Quebec's Aboriginal population: 108,430

Percentile rank of Quebec's Aboriginal population: (108,430/1,172,315) x 100 = 9.26%

b) To find the province/territory that has a percentile rank of 23, we can calculate the cumulative percentage of Aboriginal population for each province/territory and see which one is closest to 23%.

Cumulative percentage of Aboriginal population:
- Ontario: 242,495 / 1,172,315 = 20.68%
- British Columbia: 196,075 / 1,172,315 = 16.74%
- Alberta: 188,365 / 1,172,315 = 16.07%
- Manitoba: 175,395 / 1,172,315 = 14.97%
- Saskatchewan: 141,890 / 1,172,315 = 12.11%
- Quebec: 108,430 / 1,172,315 = 9.26%
- Nunavut: 24,920 / 1,172,315 = 2.12%
- Nova Scotia: 24,175 / 1,172,315 = 2.06%
- Newfoundland and Labrador: 23,450 / 1,172,315 = 2.00%
- Northwest Territories: 20,635 / 1,172,315 = 1.76%
- New Brunswick: 17,665 / 1,172,315 = 1.51%
- Yukon: 7,580 / 1,172,315 = 0.65%
- Prince Edward Island: 1,730 / 1,172,315 = 0.15%

From the cumulative percentages, we can see that no province/territory has a percentile rank of exactly 23%. The closest is Newfoundland and Labrador with a rank of 20.68%.