Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0Shuniah’s household incomes are higher than in 94% of Canadian towns
Joblessness at the 2021 census: 8.5% of Shuniah’s labour force, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The census counted 340 people working in Shuniah and 960 residents commuting to a fixed workplace. Of Shuniah’s residents aged 15 to 64, 76% were employed when the 2021 census was taken, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns.
The short version on work in Shuniah
Higher incomes than most towns
Half of households had more than $110,900 before tax in 2020, where the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Commutes take 30.6 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 8.2% take an hour or more. The trip to work ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
The Jobs & income grade for Shuniah: B
Better than 57% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #244 of 866 in Ontario.
Its strongest measure is household income; its weakest, trip times.
Graded against Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more; less unemployment and a shorter commute count in its favour.
How the grade works
Census 2021 measures, weighed equally against every Canadian town and neighbourhood of 2,500 people or more: the share of residents aged 15 to 64 in work, median household income (2020), the unemployment rate and the average commute. Each becomes a percentile; their average sets the letter.
Median household income in Shuniah: $110,900 in 2020
No other place of 2,500 or more in the Thunder Bay census division has a higher median. Set beside Ontario’s towns, where the median is $91,600, Shuniah sits 21% above. Because 2020 was the first year of the pandemic, emergency benefits make up part of these before-tax incomes.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Shuniah has a slower trip to work than the middle of Canadian towns: 30.6 minutes
The middle of Ontario’s towns averages 28.6 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 16%, fewer than the 31% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. Long trips, an hour or more, are about as common as in the middle of Ontario’s towns: 8.2%. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 27.8 minutes.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: commuting duration in five bands; our average uses each band’s middle (75 minutes for an hour or more), so it runs about two minutes above Statistics Canada’s own.
The daily tide in Shuniah runs outward
Outbound commuters outnumber inbound ones about 4 to 1. The job is inside the municipality for 14% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
86% of Shuniah’s residents in work leave it to work; Thunder Bay takes the most
- Thunder Bay730
- Oliver Paipoonge35
- Thunder Bay, Unorganized20
- Lac des Mille Lacs 22A1 (IRI)20
- Hornepayne10
- Nipigon10
Coming the other way, Thunder Bay sends the most (105).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
How many in Shuniah have a job: 76% of 15-to-64s
All 5 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Thunder Bay census division have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
56% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 51%. The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 59% in October 2026. The census was taken on 11 May 2021, mid-pandemic, when lockdowns had pushed unemployment up and sent many to work from home.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: people in work of any age over residents aged 15 to 64, and the census unemployment rate (15 and over); the 25-to-54 rate is Statistics Canada’s own (98-10-0485). The Labour Force Survey and business counts are context, not grade inputs.
Shuniah gets to work without a car for 1.2% of commuters
Only 16% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Transit barely figures here, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. Nearly everyone drives: 96% of commuters go by car, truck or van.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
About as many people are on EI in the Thunder Bay census division as in 2019
Over the year to August 2026, the count fell by 1%. At its peak, in April 2021, 8,970 people were on EI, 2.6 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4 receive EI.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Area behind the EI beneficiaries figures: the Thunder Bay census division. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
On getting around on foot, Shuniah grades D
Better than 5% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #861 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 757 Canadian towns of 2,500 to 4,700, Shuniah comes 320th on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Mount Royal Alberta | 2,758 | 83% | 12% | $188K | A+ |
| 2 | Central River Heights Manitoba | 2,736 | 84% | 5.4% | $137K | A+ |
| 3 | Crescentwood Manitoba | 3,060 | 87% | 5% | $123K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 12 | Red Lake Ontario | 4,285 | 77% | 5.1% | $111K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 14 | Perth South Ontario | 4,055 | 87% | 7.3% | $102K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 30 | McDougall Ontario | 3,002 | 82% | 9.6% | $93K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 318 | Greenbelt (east) Ontario | 3,094 | 57% | 9.6% | $129K | B |
| 319 | Saint-Sulpice Quebec | 3,688 | 86% | 4.3% | $83K | B |
| 320 | Shuniah Ontario | 3,458 | 76% | 8.5% | $111K | B |
| 321 | Leila North Manitoba | 3,966 | 77% | 8.3% | $86K | B |
| 322 | Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs Quebec | 4,080 | 81% | 6.6% | $94K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 757 | Division No. 8, Subdivision L Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,724 | 43% | 30% | $51K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Shuniah, and others among Ontario’s towns.
How Shuniah compares with the places nearby
Distances here run 21–30 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Shuniah.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shuniah | 76% | 8.5% | $111K | 30.6 min | B | D |
| Thunder Bay 21 km | 68% | 11% | $78K | 17.2 min | B− | A− |
| Fort William 52 27.5 km | 41% | 16% | $58K | 17.9 min | C− | B− |
| Thunder Bay, Unorganized 29.8 km | 67% | 11% | $82K | 35.9 min | D | D |
The people of each place: the share in work, unemployment, household income and the average commute, with both grades once they come.
What this data can and can’t tell you
What each figure measures for Shuniah, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Employment Insurance. Statistics Canada counts EI beneficiaries each month by census division. Seasonal work makes it swing, so read it as a trend, not a jobless rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. A monthly household survey by Statistics Canada, reported for metro areas and economic regions only. It supplies a recent rate next to the 2021 census figure.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- Unemployment. Of everyone 15 or older who was working or job-hunting in the census week, the part still looking. Someone not seeking work isn’t in it at all.
- Household income. Before-tax total income of the middle household for 2020, from the census. Neighbourhood medians are worked out from bracket counts, since Statistics Canada publishes none of their own.
- Trip times. One way, on a usual day, from the census’s travel-time bands. Band midpoints overstate it a little next to the figure Statistics Canada times.
- Where people commute. Counts of workers with a fixed workplace, by where they live and where they work, both taken as whole municipalities; the jobs figure takes everyone who works here, wherever home is.
- Which towns we compare. Towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500 people or more, never a whole city and never a First Nations reserve. Middles are medians.
Questions about work in Shuniah
How many jobs are there in Shuniah?
The 2021 census counted about 340 people working in Shuniah: 0.4 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 61 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Shuniah?
At the 2021 census 8.5% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the Thunder Bay metro area, gives 3.6% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Shuniah?
Shuniah’s middle household had $110,900 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Shuniah get to work?
By car: 96% of commuters, 1.2% walk; on census day 16% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Shuniah?
30.6 minutes is the average trip, with 16% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 8.2% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Shuniah work?
Only 14% work in Shuniah itself; the rest go first to Thunder Bay (730) and Oliver Paipoonge (35).
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population (Census Profile) · Statistics Canada, tables 98-10-0458 and 98-10-0459 (commuting) · Statistics Canada, table 14-10-0323 (EI beneficiaries) · Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey (14-10-0459, 14-10-0462) · Statistics Canada, Canadian Business Counts (33-10-1176) · grades: TownRatings. 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).