Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 4.0Indigenous residents make up 32% in Mattawa, more than in 99% of Canadian towns
Across Canada’s towns, the share of one-parent families is 8.2%; Mattawa has 12%. Here, 6.6% of residents are aged 15 to 24. This Ontario town has more renter households than just over two thirds of Canadian towns, at 35%. The 2021 Census found 855 households in the town; by July 2025 the population was about 2,193.
What stands out about the people of Mattawa
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
An Indigenous identity is reported by 32% of residents, more than in 99% of Canadian towns, and 14% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Fewer people than before
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Mattawa went from 1,993 to 1,881 residents (−6%), slower growth than in 97% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Older than most towns
Line Mattawa’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 53.6; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 28% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Mattawa changed by −6% from 2016 to 2021, slower than 97% of Canadian towns
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +6% across Ontario’s towns. Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 17% higher again.
Mattawa is older than 92% of Canadian towns: a median age of 53.6
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
Where nearly a fifth of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns, Mattawa has 28%. Census figures put children under 15 at 14% in the town.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Mattawa ranks above 80% of Canadian towns on one-person households: 36%
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Households in Mattawa hold 2.1 people on average (Canada’s towns: 2.4). Typically, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns.
A higher share of common-law partners than 71% of Canadian towns, at 14%
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
The share of married residents 15 and over trails three quarters of Canadian towns: 36%. The comparison figure for common-law partners is 11% across Canada’s towns.
Mattawa sits above 58% of Canadian towns for households in single-detached houses (69%)
The kinds of homes people live in, who owns and who rents, and how old the homes are. Prices, rents and shelter costs are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Owners and renters · share of households
When homes were built · share of homes
15% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%. As a yardstick, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns.
Half of households earn more than $53,200 a year
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Mattawa’s, at $53,200, is 38% lower. Across Ontario’s towns the median is $91,600. Pandemic payments such as CERB reached 23% of income recipients here, against 28% in the typical town.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 12% in Mattawa, more than in 55% of Canadian towns
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 35%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Residents without Canadian citizenship are rarer here than in 99% of Canadian towns. As a reference point, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. For Mattawa, the census puts immigrants at 2%.
Below 67% of Canadian towns: 29% of residents said they have no religion
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 15% belong to a visible minority and 2.8% are Indigenous; here, 1.1% and 32%. The wider picture: 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
Above 86% of Canadian towns: 40% of residents speak English and French
Who can speak English and French, mother tongue, and the language spoken most at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Residents whose mother tongue is French: 25% here and 1.5% across Canada’s towns. For bilingual residents, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 7.5%.
A lower share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 98% of Canadian towns, at 8.1%
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate, diploma or degree is held by 19%; in the typical town the share is 9.5%. Across the comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 37% of residents aged 15 and over
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
With 28% of residents 65 or over, the employment rate of 37% sits under the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Every nearby town is younger than Mattawa
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are. The nearest places to Mattawa with figures are 4–45 km away.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mattawa | 2,193 | — | 53.6 | 28% | 2% |
| Papineau-Cameron | 1,136 | 4.3 km | 52.4 | 25% | 2.4% |
| Bonfield | 2,597 | 33.9 km | 48 | 20% | 2.3% |
| East Ferris | 5,835 | 43.3 km | 48 | 21% | 3.7% |
| Chisholm | 1,593 | 45.2 km | 44.8 | 20% | 8% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. “Visible minority” is the census’s term from the Employment Equity Act: people, other than Indigenous peoples, who are non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered. The page compares them with other towns and never labels a town by them.
- Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns. Two medians frame each figure: one for Ontario’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, one for all Canadian towns of that size, with whole cities and First Nations reserves left out. Percentiles rank the town within Canada.
- What these tables don’t give. Unpaid care, car ownership and internet access aren’t in the Census Profile, nor is the change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins other than visible minority and Indigenous identity are left out of the charts.
Questions about Mattawa’s residents
Is Mattawa good for families?
Under 15: 14% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 42% of households. One-parent families: 12%. Schools near Mattawa are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Mattawa?
The median household in Mattawa took in $53,200 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Mattawa?
Mattawa had about 2,193 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 1,881, 6% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Mattawa?
A median age of 53.6. Children under 15 make up 14%, and people 65 and over 28%.
Is Mattawa bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 40% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 59% speak only English and 1.4% only French; 25% grew up with French.
How diverse is Mattawa?
2% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 1.1% belong to a visible minority and 32% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Mattawa?
70% are Christian and 29% have no religion; 0.9% follow another religion.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population · Statistics Canada, population estimates for 1 July 2025 (table 17-10-0155). Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).