Greetings,
The Government of Canada’s Office for Disability Issues (ODI) within the Department of Employment and Social Development is pleased to provide you with the latest update on the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB).
On Tuesday, April 16, the Government of Canada announced funding for the Canada Disability Benefit in the 2024 Budget. Specifically, the Budget 2024 proposes an investment of $6.1 billion over six years, beginning in 2024-25, and $1.4 billion per year ongoing, for the CDB program. The proposed design 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.
With this historic milestone, which follows the Canada Disability Benefit Act receiving Royal Assent on June 22, 2023, the Government is enshrining the benefit into Canada’s social safety-net. As you may know, the Canada Disability Benefit Act will come into force no later than June 22, 2024, and the regulations setting out the details of the Canada Disability Benefit must be in place no later than 12 months after that – in June 2025.
This paves the way for the Government of Canada to 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 CDB would be available to people with a valid Disability Tax Credit (DTC) certificate. As proposed, this benefit is estimated to increase the financial well-being of over 600,000 low-income persons with disabilities.
To ensure access to the CDB for eligible Canadians, and to address an anticipated 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 required medical forms during the DTC application process. Persons with disabilities also face barriers in finding out about and accessing government benefits and services. The Budget therefore includes funding for community-based navigation services to improve awareness and take-up of federal, provincial, and territorial programs available to working-age Canadians with disabilities.
We are pleased to report that we have already embarked on the next stage of work required to make the new benefit available to eligible persons with disabilities. Recognizing that many Canadians with disabilities are in need of the additional financial support that this benefit will provide, we will move forward as fast as we can with the required regulatory development process, so that the benefit can be paid beginning in 2025.
Work has already begun on drafting regulations setting out important benefit details such as the application process, how the benefit amount will be calculated, payment frequency, and the mechanism for Canadians to appeal decisions. We aim to publish the regulations in Part I of the Canada Gazette as soon as possible, which will enable persons with disabilities and other stakeholders to provide feedback on the proposed approach in the spirit of ‘Nothing Without Us’. Input received through this consultation process will be considered in revising the regulations for final publication in Part 2 of the Canada Gazette.
At the same time, we have begun work on the delivery systems to receive CDB applications and distribute benefit payments.
Finally, we will also be working simultaneously with the provinces and territories to ensure that the CDB can best meet its goal of lifting persons with disabilities out of poverty.
We will continue to share information as this work continues, and updates will also be available on the Government of Canada’s website Overview of the Canada Disability Benefit – Supporting Canadians with disabilities – Canada.ca.
Thank you for your continued interest in the Canada Disability Benefit.
Office for Disability Issues
Employment and Social Development Canada
