Strengthening Rural Canada was a pan-Canadian initiative examining how demographic changes have impacted rural and urban areas in four Canadian provinces, namely, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario and Saskatchewan. The focus has been on the following four population groups:
1. Total population;
2. Francophone population defined as individuals whose mother tongue is French;
3. Aboriginal population defined by Statistics Canada as persons who reported identifying with at
least one Aboriginal group, that is, North American Indian, Metis or Inuit, and/or those who reported
being a Treaty Indian or a registered Indian, as defined by the Indian Act of Canada, and/or those
who reported they were members of an Indian band or First Nation;
4. Immigrant population defined as persons who are, or have ever been, landed immigrants in
Canada.

This report combines the findings of studies from the four provinces.

Written by Dr. Bakhtiar Moazzami on behalf of Essential Skills Ontario, Decoda Literacy Solutions, the Saskatchewan Literacy Network, Literacy Newfoundland and Labrador, and RESDAC .