Europe. Since many of these settlers have lived in Canada
for some time, we find that 70 per cent of the population
of the total region is Canadian-born. This is an increase
of 10 per cent from the figure of 1931. Of the remainder
of the population the largest groups are the 9 per cent
British born, and 6 per cent United States born. None of
these groups is concentrated in any particular area, but is

distributed throughout each of the general population
concentrations.

There is no concentration of any particular religious
group; people of all denominations are found in each settle
ment. Of the total population, Roman Catholics constitute
24 per cent, Anglicans are 20 per cent, United Church

adherents total 15 per cent, and the remaining 41 per cent
are of other denominations.

An estimate of the future population which the North-
west may support in the foreseeable future must consider
many factors about which detailed accurate information is
lacking at the present time. Since large populations are
customarily found on agricultural lands, it is to be expected
that the bulk of the Region’s future population will settle
in the areas of agricultural possibilities. Other persons
will find occupations in the extractive industries such as
mining, lumbering, and fishing, but their numbers will not

be so great nor so permanent as those settling in farming
sections.

Under the section on agriculture it was estimated that
the Northwest could possibly support an additional 280,000
people by, say, 1975. This estimate was made by comparing
the occupied land and the present population of the Prairie
Provinces with the amount of arable land in the Northwest
and giving the latter a corresponding density of population.
The total population for the Prairies includes people
engaged in manufacturing, transportation, servicing, etc.,

based upon an agricultural economy, and therefore the
estimate for the Northwest presupposes that such industries
will develop there, in time, ona smaller scale. Even if these
allied industries and density of rural settlement do not
evolve immediately in the Northwest, as in the Prairies,
the former region has the advantage of a greater variety of
resources, such as minerals, lumber, fur, and fish, which are
not found in quantity in the Prairies, and therefore the
ratio estimate of a regional. population of about 350,000
would appear to be a sound basis for future planning.

Most of the future population may be expected to form
farming communities in the unoccupied land found in the
Peace River Basin, the railway belt of central British
Columbia, and some of the smaller river valleys of British
Columbia. Agricultural settlement in the remaining areas
can be expected to be ona smaller scale, and to be subsidiary
to the mining and other developments. The Yukon and
Northwest Territories, in particular, have many areas of
mineral deposition that await development, and population
in business, servicing, and raising local food will naturally
expand with the increase in mining activity.

An additional factor to consider is the part the tourist
trade will play in the future of the Northwest. Although
tourists are only temporary visitors, they demand services
and accommodations which bring additional income to a
permanent population. The Canadian Northwest has a
popular appeal which will bring many tourists to the area
once transportation facilities are available, and thus the
scenic resources of the region will also help to support an
Increased population.

The Canadian Northwest is a pioneer country but,
unlike other sections of Canada which were settled when
part of the frontier, it is a rugged country. Much of it is
mountainous or muskeg, bush, or barren. Winters are
long and cold. But there are good lands to be settled,
resources to be developed, and industries to be founded.
The Northwest offers a challenge to those strong of body
and spirit, and only such, wishing to build a permanent
home, are encouraged to seek a future in the region.

Native PorputATiIon
INDIAN

The Indian population of the North Pacific Region is
computed as 19,340, distributed throughout the Region.
There has been a steady increase in the population as shown
by the attached statement, from 17,347 in 1916 to 19,340 in
1944. It will be noted, however, that there was for a time
a slight, but steady, decline in the Northwest Territories.
The Yukon Indian population has been fairly static. Census
figures for recent years show a slight increase for the North-
west Territories indicating a steadying of the population
there from the previous decline trend. There is a marked
decrease in Alberta, but a substantial part of this is accounted
for in the Lesser Slave Lake Agency where a large number of
persons previously classed as Indians were taken off the
Indian list because they were found, upon investigation, to
be half-breeds. Increases occurred in most of the British
Columbia agencies, exceptions being in Stikine and Fort
St. John, where the health of the Indians is not very good.
The 1944 total of 19,340 for the whole area, as compared
with 19,459 in 1939, shows a decrease, but when the
adjustment mentioned in the Lesser Slave Lake Agency
is set off against this, the result is a slight increase in the
Indian population.

The Indians in the Northwest, like all others in Canada,
are subject to the provisions of the Indian Act, and their
affairs are administered by the Dominion Government
through the Indian Affairs Branch. of the Department of
Mines and Resources. They are located on reserves,
provided for them by the Crown, with the exception of
some groups in the far north for whom reserves are not
required owing to their habits of life and local conditions.
Administration covers management of lands,
welfare, and relief, and in short practically all
government. Health

education,
phases of
and

services, including medical

[ 139 }