Canada Disability Benefit Report to Parliament: Progress on the Regulatory Process

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1. Introduction

The Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) is a new statutory, income-tested benefit intended to support the financial security of current and future generations of working-age Canadians with disabilities. It is designed to fill a gap in Canada's social safety net between the Canada Child Benefit and Old Age Security by supplementing existing disability support programs.

The Canada Disability Benefit Act (the CDB Act), which came into force on June 22, 2024, established the legislative framework for the CDB and provided for regulations to be made to determine benefit details such as eligibility criteria and amount. Under subsections 11.2 (1) and 11.2 (2) of the Act, the Government of Canada (the Government) must table two progress reports:

• a report on how the disability community was engaged throughout the development of the regulations (to be tabled in the House of Commons within six months of the Act coming into force); and
• a report on the progress of the regulatory process (to be tabled in the House of Commons and the Senate within one year of the Act coming into force, or by June 22, 2025)

On December 12, 2024, the Government fulfilled its first obligation under the Act by tabling the Canada Disability Benefit Report to the House of Commons: Engagement with the Disability Community in the House of Commons. The report provides an overview of the engagement undertaken throughout the regulatory process for the CDB and a summary of the input received through the consultations.

With this second progress report, the Government is pleased to provide an update on the regulatory process and announce that the regulations for the CDB have been finalized. The Canada Disability Benefit Regulations were made in February 2025 and came into force on May 15, 2025. The final regulations are publicly available on the Department of Justice's website: Canada Disability Benefit Regulations (SOR/2025-35).

2. Pre-publication in the Canada Gazette, Part I

The regulatory process for the CDB started in 2023 when the Government launched pre-regulatory engagement by inviting Canadians to comment on the general regulatory authorities under the CDB Act.

During this phase of engagement, the Government heard from over 8,000 Canadians and received over 5,000 pieces of input from a variety of stakeholders, including national disability organizations, academics, and legal clinics, among others. Input received during this phase of the engagement was used to inform the drafting of the proposed regulations.

On June 29, 2024, the proposed regulations for the CDB were pre-published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, Volume 158, Number 26 for an 86-day comment period (ending on September 23, 2024). A total of 2,734 comments from over 900 commenters were received regarding the draft regulations. In addition, the Government received close to 7,000 emails from two letter-writing campaigns during this period.

Details on activities undertaken during the regulatory consultation process, including with Indigenous peoples, provincial and territorial governments, and disability stakeholders, were presented in the first progress report tabled under the CDB Act. This report also outlined what the Government heard from the disability community and stakeholders on key themes pertaining to the design and implementation of the CDB.

3. Publication in the Canada Gazette, Part II

The final Canada Disability Benefit Regulations were made in February 2025 and were published in the Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 159, Number 6 on March 12, 2025 along with the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement, which includes a summary of outcomes based on engagement with the disability community. Input received through the consultation process that was beyond the scope of this regulatory package will be used to inform consideration of future improvements to the CDB program.

The regulations came into force on May 15, 2025.

4. Conclusion

With the Canada Disability Benefit Regulations now in force, the Government can begin implementation of the CDB. This historic addition to Canada's social safety net would not be possible without the contributions of Canadians with disabilities and the disability community more broadly. Moving forward, the Government is committed to continue engaging with persons with disabilities and the disability community to inform future changes to the CDB.