Disability benefits in Canada come from the federal government and from your province or territory. Canada.ca’s disability benefits page lists the federal ones, from the Canada Disability Benefit and disability pensions to benefits for children, a savings plan and a refund of gasoline tax. Several of them are open to you only once you’re approved for the disability tax credit (DTC). If you can’t work because of a disability, the CPP disability benefit pays a monthly amount when you have enough CPP contributions, and each province and territory runs its own disability support program (by province).
On this page: Federal programs · Where to start · By province · Ontario · Children · How they interact
What federal disability benefits are there?
| Program | What it is | Needs the DTC? | How much |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disability tax credit (DTC) | A non-refundable tax credit that lowers the income tax a person with a severe and prolonged impairment, or a family member supporting them, pays | It is the DTC: a medical practitioner certifies the impairment | Claimed at tax time |
| Canada Disability Benefit | A monthly payment for people with disabilities aged 18 to 64 | Yes | Up to $204.20 a month for July 2026 to June 2027 |
| CPP disability benefit | A monthly payment if you’re over 18 and under 65 and can’t work because of a disability | No: its tests are age, disability and CPP contributions | Maximum $1,741.20 a month in 2026; your amount depends on your contributions |
| Child disability benefit | A tax-free monthly payment to families caring for a child under 18 with a severe and prolonged impairment | Yes, for the child | Up to $3,480 a year per child for July 2026 to June 2027 |
| RDSP grant and bond | A long-term savings plan, with grants and bonds from the Government of Canada | Yes | Grant up to $3,500 and bond up to $1,000 a year (see the RDSP page) |
| EI sickness benefits | Payments while you can’t work for medical reasons | No: you need a medical certificate | Up to 26 weeks |
| CWB disability supplement | The disability part of the Canada Workers Benefit, a refundable tax credit for people working on a low income | Yes | Up to $843 for a single person for the 2025 tax year (see the CWB page) |
In short, for the Canada Disability Benefit: To get the Canada Disability Benefit you must be 18 to 64, approved for the disability tax credit, a Canadian resident for income tax purposes, and (with your spouse or common-law partner, if any) have filed your 2025 federal tax return, and you must be a citizen, permanent resident, protected person, person registered or entitled to be registered under the Indian Act, or a temporary resident who has lived in Canada throughout the previous 18 months. The CDB page explains who qualifies.
Veterans’ disability benefits, a tax-free payment for a service-related injury or disease, are a separate program on canada.ca’s list. Long-term disability insurance through an employer is covered on the CPP disability page.
Where do you start?
Four programs in the table need an approved DTC, so applying for it usually comes first. One order that follows from that:
- Apply for the DTC. The application involves you and a medical practitioner. You fill out Part A online in your CRA account or by phone (or on the paper form), and the practitioner fills out Part B. You can apply at any time of year; the CRA suggests sending it before you file your return, to avoid delaying your assessment. Details: the DTC page.
- File your tax return every year, and so should your spouse or partner. Filing is required to keep the CDB, and you and your spouse or partner have to file for its payments; the child disability benefit can be delayed or interrupted if taxes aren’t done on time. See filing to get benefits.
- Apply for the Canada Disability Benefit once the DTC is approved. You can apply online, by phone, at a Service Canada office or with a printed form. Some people get a letter from Service Canada with an application code to apply with. See how to apply.
- Open an RDSP if you want to save. A plan is opened at a financial organization, and you apply for the grants and bonds when you open it.
- If you can’t work, EI sickness benefits cover up to 26 weeks. For a condition expected to be long-term or permanent, canada.ca points to CPP disability, or the Quebec Pension Plan’s disability benefits. You apply for CPP disability online through My Service Canada Account or with a paper form, then send a medical form. If you live in Quebec and have worked there, you apply to the QPP instead.
- If your income is low, look at your province’s or territory’s program below.
What disability support does your province or territory pay?
The table lists the disability income program in each province and territory, with a link to its official page. In British Columbia, disability assistance needs a Person with Disabilities (PWD) designation. In New Brunswick, the Disability Support Program gives personal supports to help adults with disabilities live more independently; the income program is the Extended Benefits Program.
| Province or territory | Program and who it's for | Monthly figure the province publishes (single adult) | Does it count the Canada Disability Benefit? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | Disability Income Assistance: Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) and the Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP) Adults with a severe disability: AISH if it permanently prevents employment, ADAP if it substantially impedes employment continuously or episodically | AISH: $1,940 ADAP: $1,740 Monthly living allowance for a single client living in the community: AISH $1,940, ADAP $1,740 (former AISH clients moved to ADAP also get a $200 transition benefit until December 31, 2027); Effective July 2, 2026 | Counted as income and deducted dollar for dollar from AISH and ADAP, except for clients receiving a modified living allowance (clients living in a facility) |
| British Columbia | Disability assistance (for people designated as having a disability, PWD) Adults 18 and over designated as a Person with Disabilities: a severe physical or mental impairment expected to continue for more than two years that significantly restricts daily living activities | $1,483.50 Up to, single person, disability assistance; Payments for the December 2025 benefit month (BC page last updated December 1, 2025) | Not counted Announced June 20, 2025, before the first CDB payments in July 2025 |
| Manitoba | Manitoba Supports for Persons with Disabilities MSPD: Manitobans with a severe and prolonged disability that challenges daily living who are financially eligible for income assistance EIA for Persons with Disabilities (the Employment and Income Assistance disability category, now called Medical Barriers to Full Employment) EIA for Persons with Disabilities: adults 18 and over with a mental or physical disability likely to last more than one year that keeps them from earning enough for basic needs | $1,277 EIA for Persons with Disabilities, one adult living in the community, no children: provincial benefits (EIA plus Rent Assist); the MSPD rate is not published as one figure; As of July 2026 | Not counted by EIA (its regulation lists it as exempt); no Manitoba page or release found says how Manitoba Supports for Persons with Disabilities treats it |
| New Brunswick | Extended Benefits Program People certified by the Medical Advisory Board as blind, deaf or disabled Disability Support Program (personal supports and services, not income assistance) Disability Support Program: New Brunswickers 19 to 64 with a long-term disability who need help to support themselves or take part in the community | $955 Extended Benefits Program, 1 person (Schedule A); Rate effective April 2026 | Not counted The policy manual counts it only when deciding eligibility in Section 4(4) cases Announced July 4, 2025 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | Income Support (no separate disability income program), plus the Newfoundland and Labrador Disability Benefit NL Disability Benefit: residents aged 18 to 64 who qualify for the federal Disability Tax Credit and meet its income test (no application needed) | $400 Newfoundland and Labrador Disability Benefit, up to, a month; people on Income Support also keep their full Income Support | Not counted July 2025 |
| Northwest Territories | Income Assistance for Seniors and Persons with Disabilities NWT residents aged 19 to 59 with a permanent or long-term disability (and seniors 60 and over) whose need is greater than their income | No single figure published | Not counted Policy manual dated April 2026 |
| Nova Scotia | Disability Support Program (DSP) Children, youth and adults with intellectual disabilities, long-term mental illness and physical disabilities (people with other disabilities may get Income Assistance, ESIA) | $1,022 DSP Standard Household Rate, single participant renting or owning (board rate is $655); Current page; no effective date shown | Not counted Not counted under the Disability Support Program's policy (5.5.7) |
| Nunavut | Income Assistance (IA); no separate disability income program found | No single figure published | Not found on the pages we could read |
| Ontario | Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) Ontario residents 18 and over in financial need with a substantial mental or physical impairment that is continuous or recurrent and expected to last one year or more (or a member of a prescribed class) | $1,436 ODSP, up to, single person, basic needs and shelter; Ontario.ca page updated September 23, 2026 | Not counted |
| Prince Edward Island | AccessAbility Supports (Assured Income component) PEI residents under 65 at application with a diagnosed disability causing significant impairment expected to last more than 12 months; Assured Income covers basic needs for those who can't provide for them | No single figure published | Not found on the pages we could read |
| Quebec | Social Solidarity Program Single people or low-income families where the person or at least one adult has severe health-related limitations, documented by a doctor in a medical report | No single figure published | Not counted July 1, 2025 |
| Saskatchewan | Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability (SAID) Saskatchewan residents 18 and over without the money for basic needs who have a significant and enduring disability that is permanent and substantially affects daily living | No single figure published | Not counted Announced June 20, 2025 |
| Yukon | Social Assistance, with the Yukon Supplementary Allowance for people with disabilities | Not checked | See yukon.ca |
The monthly figures cover different things (Manitoba’s includes Rent Assist, and Nova Scotia’s pays for shelter as well as food and other basics), so one province’s figure can’t be compared with another’s. In the last column, “Not found on the pages we could read” means none of that province’s pages we were able to fetch says either way; it doesn’t mean the province counts the CDB. Yukon’s row hasn’t been checked yet: see yukon.ca. Other help for people on a low income is on financial help for low-income Canadians.
What’s available in Ontario?
Ontario’s program is the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), which gives income support, help with health costs and other disability supports. ODSP looks at both financial and medical information to decide whether you’re eligible; the ODSP application page explains the disability decision. You apply for Ontario Works and ODSP through one application, and if you qualify for Ontario Works it can pay you while ODSP assesses your application. Ontario says the Canada Disability Benefit won’t affect your ODSP eligibility or payment. Amounts, payment dates and working on ODSP are on the ODSP page.
What’s available for a child with a disability?
The child disability benefit comes with the Canada Child Benefit: The child disability benefit is paid with the CCB for each child who is approved for the disability tax credit: you need to be eligible for the CCB and the child's Form T2201 must be approved by CRA; there is nothing separate to apply for if you already get the CCB for that child. It pays up to $3,480 a year per child for July 2026 to June 2027; the CCB page covers how family income reduces it.
An RDSP can be opened for a child approved for the DTC, and you apply for the grants and bonds when it’s opened. If a parent gets CPP disability, their dependent children can get a monthly payment too, while under 18 or aged 18 to 25 and in school; you include them in the parent’s application. The Canada Disability Benefit itself starts at 18, and you can apply up to 6 months before that birthday.
Does one benefit reduce another?
- The CDB and provincial programs: the table shows what each province says. A briefing note from Employment and Social Development Canada says Alberta has decided to claw the CDB back from its social assistance benefits.
- What the CDB counts as income: the amount is based on adjusted family net income, which is your net income (line 23600) plus your spouse’s or partner’s, minus any universal child care benefit and RDSP income. The CDB page has more.
- The RDSP: opening and contributing to a plan doesn’t affect your other federal, provincial or territorial benefits. In Quebec, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, withdrawals may lower your provincial benefits.
- ODSP and other income: how ODSP treats CPP disability and other income is on the ODSP page.
- Tax: CDB payments aren’t taxable and aren’t reported on your return; CPP disability is a taxable benefit. See which benefits are taxable.
Where to go next
Sources
The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them between August 29, 2026 and October 13, 2026. How we check facts.
- Canada Revenue Agency: Child disability benefit
- Canada Revenue Agency: How much you can get - Canada child benefit (CCB)
- Canada Revenue Agency: Canada workers benefit (CWB): how much you can get
- ece.gov.nt.ca: Income Assistance for Seniors and Persons with Disabilities
- Employment and Social Development Canada: Registered Disability Savings Plan: how much you could get in grants and bonds
- Gouvernement du Québec: Social Assistance and Social Solidarity Programs | Gouvernement du Québec
- gov.nu.ca: 2026 2030 Business Plans ENG
- Government of Alberta: Disability Income Assistance | Alberta.ca
- Government of British Columbia: Disability assistance
- Government of Canada: Canada Disability Benefit (CDB)
- Government of Canada: Canada Disability Benefit - How much you could receive
- Government of Canada: Canada Disability Benefit - Do you qualify
- Government of Canada: Canada Disability Benefit - Payments
- Government of Canada: Canada Pension Plan (CPP)
- Government of Canada: Statistics on CPP monthly maximum amounts for new benefits (open data)
- Government of Canada: EI sickness benefits: What these benefits offer
- Government of Manitoba: Manitoba: Employment and Income Assistance for Persons with Disabilities
- Government of New Brunswick: Social Assistance Rate Schedules - Social Development
- Government of Newfoundland and Labrador: Newfoundland and Labrador Disability Benefit - Social Supports and Well-Being
- Government of Nova Scotia: Disability Support Program
- Government of Ontario: Ontario Disability Support Program
- Government of Prince Edward Island: SOCIAL PROGRAMS
- Government of Saskatchewan: Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability Program (SAID) | People with Disabilities
- Justice Laws (Canada): Canada Disability Benefit Regulations (SOR/2025-35)
- yukon.ca: Apply social assistance