The Métis people are one of the fastest growing demographic in Canada. In a consensus done in 2011, they found that over 400,000 Métis people were living in Ontario and the 4 western provinces.
Alberta is the province with the most Métis with 96,865 residents (2011) and followed by Ontario with 86,015 Métis residents (2011).
The Métis people usually live in large cities, metropolitan areas, and smaller urban centres. Winnipeg has the largest population of Métis with 46,325 residents, which is followed by Edmonton with 31,780 residents.
The Métis people are relatively young population with the median age being just 31 years of age.
The Métis Homeland is Extensive
The Métis historically occupied communities in many different areas. These areas include Western Canada, Northwest Ontario, Northwest Territories, Montana, and North Dakota.
You may know some of these well known places today, such as: Winnipeg, Batoche, Prince Albert Saskatchewan, and others such as Little Chicago by Lestock, Saskatchewan.
The Métis usually had high mobility and occupied areas seasonally. Their settlements were closely associated with the fur trade, transportation systems, and bison hunting.
Other settlements were by good fishing areas, wintering sites, fur trade forts, and stopping points.
The Fur Trade & The Métis
The Métis helped build Canada because Canada was built on the fur trade. The pelts from animals from Canada was in high demand from European people to make items such as hats.
Métis people became very skilled trappers during the start of the fur trade in the 1700s. There was good opportunity to make a living as a fur trader as the demand was there for beaver pelts. The Métis trappers could sell their pelts to the highest bidder between these companies, North West Company, Hudson’s Bay Company, and the American Fur Company.
In 1821, things became harder because HBC & NWC merged under the retained name of HBC.
HBC now had a monopoly on the fur trade and would bring prices down for pelts. Later the demand for beaver pelts started to dwindle as other forms of cheaper materials amerged and money shifted elsewhere.
Today the Métis people still participate in trapping and have an event to honour timely traditions such as the King Trappers event.
