Overview of the Canada Disability Benefit
UPDATE: Launching the Canada Disability Benefit
Budget 2024 provides funding of $6.1 billion over six years, beginning in 2024-25, and $1.4 billion per year ongoing, for a new Canada Disability Benefit, including costs to deliver the program.
The proposed design of the Benefit is based on a maximum benefit amount of $2,400 per year for low-income persons with disabilities between the ages of 18 and 64. This benefit is estimated to increase the financial well-being of over 600,000 low-income persons with disabilities.
Budget 2024 further announces the government will begin providing payments to eligible Canadians starting in July 2025, following successful completion of the regulatory process and consultations with persons with disabilities.
To deliver the benefit as quickly as possible and to ensure nation-wide consistency of eligibility, the proposed Canada Disability Benefit would be available to people with a valid Disability Tax Credit certificate.
To ensure access to the Canada Disability Benefit for eligible Canadians, and to address an anticipated significant financial barrier associated with benefit take-up, Budget 2024 further proposes funding of $243 million over six years, beginning in 2024-25, and $41 million per year ongoing, to cover the cost of the medical forms required to apply for the Disability Tax Credit.
Next Steps
The Government is very aware that many Canadians with disabilities are in need of the additional financial support that the benefit will provide. The intent, therefore, is to move forward as fast as possible with the regulatory development process.
The next phase of the engagement process will focus on the Government of Canada’s formal regulatory development process and will begin in the coming months with the publishing of the draft Canada Disability Benefit regulations in Part I of the Canada Gazette.
Following this, stakeholders and the public will be able to review and provide comments, and the Government will then analyze the comments received and make changes to the regulations if necessary.
The final regulations will then be published in Part II of the Canada Gazette, at which time the design of the benefit will be complete.
Future updates will be posted to this website as information becomes available. Please check back in the coming weeks or subscribe using the link below to receive updates.
Supporting Canadians with disabilities
On June 22, 2023, the Canada Disability Benefit Act received Royal Assent. This benefit will help reduce poverty among working-age Canadians with disabilities.
Working-age Canadians with disabilities are twice as likely to live in poverty as working-age people without disabilities and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has made things even worse. That is why the Government of Canada is trying to address the financial hardships and other barriers faced by persons with disabilities. The aim is to ensure a Canada that is inclusive for all Canadians, including persons with disabilities.
The Canada Disability Benefit is a key commitment and is the cornerstone of Canada’s Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) – a Plan that was promised in the 2020 Speech from the Throne. The DIAP is a blueprint for change to make Canada more inclusive for persons with disabilities. It is based on the understanding that disability inclusion benefits everyone. The DIAP will evolve over time – the aim is to take action across the Government of Canada and make targeted investments to create lasting change.
Engagement process for the Canada Disability Benefit Regulations
Based on engagement, the Government of Canada will develop regulations under the Canada Disability Benefit Act. These regulations will include details such as the benefit amount and eligibility criteria.
Building on engagement activities that took place in 2021 and 2022, in summer 2023 the Government launched a 2-phase engagement process to inform the development of the regulations and the implementation of the benefit.
The first phase of the engagement process, in fall 2023 and winter 2024, included:
- four ministerial roundtables, with national disability organizations, women with disabilities, racialized persons with disabilities, and youth with disabilities
- four technical roundtables, on the extra costs of living for persons with disabilities, legal capacity, barrier-free applications, and administrative processes
- meetings between the Government and provinces and territories, Indigenous governments and organizations, and stakeholders
- an online engagement tool, which was launched on November 15, 2023, and closed on January 4, 2024
- individuals and organizations were also invited to submit emails, videos, telephone messages and briefs directly to Employment and Social Development Canada’s Office for Disability Issues
In total, the Government heard from over 8000 Canadians during the first phase of the CDB regulatory engagement and received over 5000 pieces of input during the first phase of the regulatory engagement process.
The second phase of the engagement process will begin with the publishing of proposed regulations in Part I of the Canada Gazette. Canadians will be able to review and provide comments on the proposed regulations. The Government will analyze the comments received and may make changes to the regulations in response to the feedback received before finalizing them. The final regulations will then be published in Part II of the Canada Gazette.
If you would like to be informed about the next engagement opportunity to inform the Canada Disability Benefit regulations, you can choose to be part of our email distribution list. If you wish to join this list, click the ‘subscribe’ button to add your email address.
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