Aboriginal Youth Entrepreneurship: Success Factors and Challenges

Aboriginal people (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) and their communities in the north face many obstacles and challenges. There are, however, tremendous opportunities to promote and enhance Aboriginal participation in the economy. Aboriginal youth entrepreneurs are key to building a healthy economy both on and off reserves.

The economic landscape for Aboriginal Canadians has changed considerably in the last two decades. The Canadian economy has expanded rapidly, outstripping the supply of skilled labour in many fields and pushing development farther into every region of the country. This economic evolution presents real opportunities on a broad scale for Aboriginal Canadians especially given that between 2001 and 2026, more than 600,000 Aboriginal youth will have come of age to enter the labour market, including more than 100,000 in each of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario (Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, 2008)...