Indigenous Canadians combined account for more economic output than three provinces, says Bank of Canada research. Findings were drawn despite data gaps like the fact Statistics Canada does not track the employment rate on First Nations reserves, wrote analysts.

“Statistics Canada excludes on-reserve communities from its monthly Labour Force Survey and the Consumer Price Index,” said a Bank report. “Often data on some small communities are suppressed for privacy reasons or excluded for lack of participation or inconsistent definitions of who falls into categories such as First Nations.”