NATIONAL DISABILITY NETWORK STATEMENT ON BUDGET 2025
For immediate release – Ottawa, November 6, 2025
Budget 2025 takes some steps to improve access but fails to recognize the economic imperative of including people with disabilities in Canada’s economy. People with disabilities (27% of Canadians aged 15 and over) contribute as workers, entrepreneurs, and consumers, yet remain excluded from meaningful economic participation. This budget provides no clear roadmap to enable this participation, offers no new adequacy funding for the Canada Disability Benefit, and creates a potential risk to disability programs given significant savings targets at Employment and Social Development Canada.
What the budget includes
- Steps to ease benefit access, including simplified tax filing for low-income Canadians
- Measures to support Disability Tax Credit (DTC) medical certification
- Signals that the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) may become ‘exempt from income’ for qualifying for other benefits.
- Measures to address negative effects on the value of the DTC as a result of reductions to marginal tax rates
We are pleased with these measures which should reduce some access barriers. However, without adequate benefits and supports, people with disabilities cannot fully participate in the economy.
What’s missing and what’s at risk
- No commitment to increase the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB)
- Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) directed to achieve significant savings with no clarity on which programs face cuts (creating potential risk to disability-related programs)
- Eligibility for the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) remains tied to the restrictive Disability Tax Credit (DTC)
- Major federal housing and infrastructure investments lack clear, measurable accessibility requirements
What the National Disability Network is calling for
The National Disability Network calls on the federal government to:
- Publish a plan for the Canada Disability Benefit, outlining a clear timeline for a fully funded and adequate benefit
- Broaden CDB eligibility beyond the Disability Tax Credit through co-design with disability-led organizations
- Ensure provincial and territorial governments do not claw back the CDB by reducing provincial and territorial disability benefits, so people receive the full value of the CDB
- Embed measurable accessibility requirements across all major federal investments
- Clarify the impact of ESDC program reductions and consult disability-led organizations consistent with CRPD Article 4.3, and advance Articles 12 and 19 by protecting legal capacity and funding community-based supports
The Government of Canada cannot advance its growth and prosperity agenda – and Canada cannot reach its full economic potential – if people with disabilities continue to be undervalued and excluded.
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Media contact
National Disability Network / Réseau national pour les personnes en situation de handicap
Email: [email protected]
About the National Disability Network
The National Disability Network (NDN) is a pan-Canadian coalition of over 40 member organizations committed to advancing inclusion, accessibility, and equity for people with disabilities in Canada. The NDN advocates for systemic change through collaborative policy development, government engagement, and community mobilization. It operates on the principle of “nothing about us, without us,” ensuring that people with disabilities are meaningfully involved in shaping the policies and programs that affect their lives.