Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainA median age of 26: Waswanipi is younger than 99% of Canadian towns
11% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Canada’s towns, against 17% in Waswanipi. With about 1,866 residents in July 2025, Waswanipi counted 125 households at the 2021 Census. Locally, 7.7% of households rent their home. Compared with other places, one-parent families are common here: 12%, more than in 90% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Waswanipi
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
99% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 99% of Canadian towns; 97% are Registered or Treaty Indians, and 67% have an Indigenous mother tongue. Identity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Waswanipi’s median age is 26; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 29% are under 15 and 6.5% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Fewer people than before
Waswanipi went from 1,759 people in 2016 to 459 in 2021, −74%: slower growth than in 99% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Bilingual residents: 34%, a higher share than 83% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. The official languages residents can speak, and the ones they learned first.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Residents whose mother tongue is English make up 14%, against 66% across Canada’s towns. At home, 36% mostly speak another language; 1.1% speak neither English nor French. Across the comparison, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
−74% since 2016, a pace below 99% of Canadian towns
Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 307%. Across Quebec’s towns the median is +4%, and across Canada’s towns +4%.
Waswanipi ranks below 98% of Canadian towns on residents aged 65 and over: 6.5%
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
The biggest five-year age group is 5–9, with 11% of residents, 2 times the share across Canada’s towns. 29% of residents are under 15, more than in 99% of Canadian towns. To put it in context, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
Larger households than 98% of Canadian towns: 3.6 people on average
Households by family type and by the number of people in them.
Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Across Canada’s towns, the share of one-person households is 27%; Waswanipi has 20%.
Waswanipi sits below 94% of Canadian towns for married residents 15 and over (27%)
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Common-law partners: 20% here and 11% across Canada’s towns. To put it in context, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
64% of homes are single-detached houses
Dwelling types, tenure and age of the housing. 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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. 23% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%.
Half of households earn more than $107,000 a year
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes run high in Waswanipi: half had more than $107,000, 24% above the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). $74,000 is the median household income across Quebec’s towns. COVID-19 benefits were paid to 34% of residents with an income, where the typical town had 28%.
Waswanipi ranks above 99% of Canadian towns on Indigenous residents: 99%
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
By its share of residents with no religion (41%), Waswanipi is above 69% of Canadian towns. Indigenous residents: 2.8% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
In Waswanipi, 4.8% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, fewer than in 99% of Canadian towns
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
With no certificate, diploma or degree: 36%, beside a typical 9.5%. Elsewhere, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
In work on census day: 54% of adults
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 54%, fewer residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns, and 6.5% are 65 or over.
No nearby town is as young as Waswanipi
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page. Distances here run 26–120 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Waswanipi.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waswanipi | 1,866 | — | 26 | 6.5% | 0% |
| Eeyou Istchee Baie-James | 1,225 | 26.1 km | 34.4 | 12% | 0.4% |
| Chapais | 1,392 | 81.2 km | 40.4 | 16% | 1% |
| Lebel-sur-Quévillon | 2,229 | 101.0 km | 48 | 21% | 4.1% |
| Chibougamau | 7,273 | 118.2 km | 40.8 | 16% | 1.5% |
| Matagami | 1,364 | 119.5 km | 42 | 17% | 2.5% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- 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 Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns. A figure here is set beside two middles, the median across Quebec’s places of 2,500 people or more and the median across all Canadian towns that size; reserves and entire cities are excluded from both.
Questions about Waswanipi’s residents
What is the population of Waswanipi?
About 1,866, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 459 people in Waswanipi, 74% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Waswanipi?
The median age is 26. 29% are under 15 and 6.5% 65 or older.
Is Waswanipi bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 34% are. Another 1.1% speak only French and 63% only English, and French is the first language of 2.2%.
How diverse is Waswanipi?
0% of residents belong to a visible minority and 99% have an Indigenous identity; Statistics Canada suppresses the immigration figures for Waswanipi.
What religion are people in Waswanipi?
41% said they have no religion and 54% that they are Christian; 4.4% named another faith.
Is Waswanipi good for families?
29% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 40% of households and one-parent families 12%. Schools near Waswanipi are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Waswanipi?
Half of Waswanipi’s households had more than $107,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
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).