The Yukon has the highest average proficiency scores in all four domains. Its prose literacy score is significantly higher not just than the Canadian average but also than all other provinces and territories. The higher than average score in the Yukon is undoubtedly a result of many factors, some of which will be expanded upon in this report, including age, occupation, industry of employment and the literacy performance of its Aboriginal people. According to the 2001 Census of Canada and the Yukon Labour Force Survey, 2003, when compared to Canada as a whole, the Yukon’s population is more concentrated in the 25 to 54 age group and in management, social science and government occupations. As will be seen in subsequent chapters, literacy performance is higher among these ages and types of occupations.

In each of the four domains, Nunavut’s scores are lower than all other provinces and territories. The IALSS assessments were conducted in English or French. The mother tongue of over 60 percent of respondents in Nunavut, however, is neither English nor French but Inuktitut. Further, over half of the Nunavut respondents use Inuktitut on a daily basis (other Aboriginal languages are also used regularly in Nunavut). Since IALSS measures literacy of respondents in English or French, it may not provide an accurate profile of the competencies of the population in Nunavut.

In all four domains, the scores of the adult population in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia are significantly above the national average and their scores are similar to each other. After the Yukon, these three provinces have the highest average scores of all jurisdictions with the exception of Nova Scotia and the Northwest Territories in selected domains.

The average prose and document literacy scores for Quebec, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador are similar to one another; however, each of these provinces has a score lower than the Canadian average.

Five jurisdictions, Nova Scotia, the Northwest Territories, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and Ontario have average scores in all domains that are about the same as the Canadian national average. Within this middle performing group, there are no significant differences in their average scores.

While Prince Edward Island and Ontario belong to the middle performing group of provinces, relative to the Canadian average, their average prose literacy scores are not really much different from those of New Brunswick and Quebec - two provinces that belong to the lower performing group.

In contrast, Nova Scotia and the Northwest Territories, which also belong to the middle performing group of provinces, have average prose literacy scores that are not much different from the higher performing provinces. The same is true for the Northwest Territories in the document literacy domain.

On the numeracy scale, however, Nova Scotia’s average score is at least 10 points lower than any of the scores of the jurisdictions belonging to the higher performing group. On the problem solving scale, the Northwest Territories’ average score is 9 points below that of the higher group.