Photo: P199 · Public domainHalf of Lac Simon is under 24.8, younger than 99% of Canadian towns
Lac Simon is a First Nations reserve, the home of Nation Anishnabe du Lac Simon. Nearly one in ten households are one-parent families across Canada’s towns, against 16% in Lac Simon. On the census count, 4.4% of households rent their home. Compared with other places, residents aged 15 to 24 are common here: 14%, more than in 90% of Canadian towns. There are 7% fewer residents than in 2016.
What stands out about the people of Lac Simon
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
100% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 99% of Canadian towns; 98% are Registered or Treaty Indians, and 15% have an Indigenous mother tongue. Identity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Lac Simon’s median age is 24.8; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 36% are under 15 and 3.1% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Fewer people than before
Lac Simon went from 1,380 people in 2016 to 1,285 in 2021, −7%: slower growth than in 98% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Common-law couples
Common-law unions take in 32% of adults, more than in 96% of Canadian towns, while 19% are married. Couples ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Lac Simon ranks above 83% of Canadian towns on bilingual residents: 34%
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. Knowledge of the two official languages, first languages, and the language of home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Nearly two thirds of residents have English as their mother tongue across Canada’s towns, against 5.4% in Lac Simon. As a reference point, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
Lac Simon’s population moved −7% on 2016, less than in 98% of Canadian towns
The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The July 2025 estimate adds another 9%. The median across Canada’s towns is +4%, and across Quebec’s towns +4%.
A lower share of residents aged 65 and over than 99% of Canadian towns, at 3.1%
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
No age band is larger than 10–14: 13% of residents, 2.2 times the share across Canada’s towns. Set beside that, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. The share of children under 15 stands at 36%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split.
Lac Simon households average 3.7 people, larger than in 98% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns, against 20% in Lac Simon.
32% of residents 15 and over live common-law, a share 96% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Compared with 46% across Canada’s towns, nearly a fifth of residents 15 and over are married here. Common-law partners make up 11% across Canada’s towns.
Above 91% of Canadian towns: 91% of households live in a single-detached house
Occupied homes by type, by owners and renters, and by when they were built. 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
57% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%. The benchmark for households in single-detached houses across Canada’s towns: 64%. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns.
Households here have a median income of $57,200 a year
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
Lac Simon’s median household took in $57,200 before tax, 33% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The provincial yardstick is $74,000, the median across Quebec’s towns. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 48% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
Above 99% of Canadian towns: 100% of residents have an Indigenous identity
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Against a figure of 35% across Canada’s towns, the share of residents with no religion in Lac Simon comes in at 44%. For Indigenous residents, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 2.8%.
A smaller share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 99% of Canadian towns: 1.7%
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the other end, 56% hold no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. Measured more widely, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
31% of adults were employed in May 2021
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Fewer work here than in the typical town: 31%, against 58% across Canada’s towns. 3.1% of residents are 65 or over.
Every neighbour of Lac Simon has an older population
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page. No closer places have figures: these lie 23–47 km from Lac Simon.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lac Simon | 1,403 | — | 24.8 | 3.1% | 0% |
| Senneterre | 1,189 | 22.8 km | 55.2 | 27% | 0.8% |
| Val-d'Or | 33,353 | 33.2 km | 43.2 | 20% | 2.3% |
| Senneterre | 2,832 | 36.9 km | 48.8 | 24% | 0.6% |
| Barraute | 1,939 | 46.7 km | 46.8 | 23% | 1.8% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. The Census Profile has no unpaid care, cars or internet access, and no change by age since 2016; ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
- The census’s own words. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered them. “Visible minority” follows the Employment Equity Act, meaning people other than Indigenous peoples who are non-white in colour or race. We compare these figures across towns; none is a label for a town.
- Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns. Two medians frame each figure: one for Quebec’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.
- A First Nations reserve. Reserves are compared with Canada’s towns but aren’t counted among them: they have no overall grade and no place in ranked lists. Census figures for small reserves are rounded, and some are suppressed.
Questions about Lac Simon’s residents
What is the median income in Lac Simon?
Half of Lac Simon’s households had more than $57,200 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Lac Simon?
About 1,403, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 1,285 people in Lac Simon, 7% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Lac Simon?
The median age is 24.8. 36% are under 15 and 3.1% 65 or older.
Is Lac Simon bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 34% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 2.3% speak only English and 63% only French; 71% grew up with French.
How diverse is Lac Simon?
In Lac Simon, 100% have an Indigenous identity and 0% belong to a visible minority; its immigration figures are suppressed.
What religion are people in Lac Simon?
44% said they have no religion and 40% that they are Christian; 16% named another faith.
Is Lac Simon good for families?
36% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 35% of households and one-parent families 16%. Schools near Lac Simon are on its Schools page.
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).