Digital Toolkit

#TooLittleForTooFew

#BetterTheBenefit

Better The Benefit

27% of Canadians are disabled. 1.5 million disabled people in Canada live in poverty. 41% of people who live in poverty are disabled. No provincial or territorial disability assistance payment raises people above the poverty line.

The 2024 federal budget allocated $6.1 billion to be rolled out over 6 years commencing July 2025. The benefit’s maximum is $2,400 annually. The Disability Tax Credit (DTC) is the eligibility tool. The expectation from the government is that with funding of medical forms, eligibility will double from the current 300,000 on the DTC, to 600,000. Draft regulations were shared with the public in June 2024.

In Phase 1 of Shape the CDB, we discovered:

Over 30% of disabled people in our survey are also carers to disabled people.

62% have an annual income below $24,000.

Canada Disability Benefit should be transformative. It still can be. We need your help to make sure the federal government gets the message loud and clear – $200 a month to so few people with disabilities is far below what is needed. We expect better.

Seven principles for a successful Canada Disability Benefit

  1. URGENCY: The current situation is critical. Disabled people living in poverty are facing extreme hardship and life-threatening challenges.
  2. DIGNITY: 97% of survey respondents feel the CDB could transform their lives if it is adequate enough to lift them out of poverty.
  3. ADDED COSTS: The Canada Disability Benefit Act states that additional costs associated with living with a disability must be taken into consideration regarding the amount of the benefit.
  4. INCLUSIVE ELIGIBILITY: 96% of survey respondents agree that disabled people who already receive a federal, territorial or provincial benefit should get immediate access to the CDB.
  5. SIMPLE APPLICATION: Over 95% of survey respondents want an application process that is easy, seamless, fast and simple.
  6. A FAIR BENEFIT: 95.5% of survey respondents feel the CDB needs to be responsive to the changing circumstances of applicants.
  7. KEEP DISABLED PEOPLE INVOLVED: 98% of survey respondents agree that the government must include people with disabilities in developing, implementing and monitoring the CDB program.

Ask politicians at all levels of government to ask Prime Minister Trudeau, Finance Minister Freeland and Disability Minister Khera:

  • To raise the amount of the CDB.
  • To individualize the benefit rather than means-test against family income.
  • To simplify the application process.
  • To work with provinces and territories to automatically enroll anyone who already receives provincial and territorial supports.
  • To confirm with provinces that there will be no clawbacks of any kind related to the CDB.

Tool to Email your Member of Parliament:

Downloadable Campaign Poster

A side profile of a man wearing a black cap with "DWP" written on it, standing in a crowd. People in the background are casually dressed, some wearing face masks.
A young woman seated indoors painting on an easel. She is focused, wearing a striped shirt, with bookshelves and cozy furnishings in the background.
An older man speaking passionately into a microphone while raising a drum stick.