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Advocacy

The following are some of the current advocacy efforts for the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB). This list is not exhaustive, and we update it regularly. If you have any advocacy efforts you would like to share, please contact us.

Current Advocacy Campaigns

Plan Institute and our partners remain committed to advocating for a Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) that fulfills its obligations to lift people in Canada living with disabilities out of poverty. We will continue to work alongside the disability community to encourage the Canadian government to take action, including on the following:

  • Expand eligibility to include more options beyond the Disability Tax Credit (DTC).

  • Address the insufficient amount of the benefit, especially considering the higher cost of living faced by people with disabilities.  

  • Prevent the CDB from clawing back other benefits.

  • Ensure that income is determined based on the individual receiving the CDB, not based on family income.

The following are current advocacy campaigns we participate in, along with some from our partners. These campaigns highlight many of the community’s concerns regarding the current CDB regulations, as well as actions you can take.

The National Disability Network: Improve The Canada Disability Benefit (CDB)!

The National Disability Network, which Plan Institute is a part of, calls on Members of Parliament and all political parties to step up for Canadians with disabilities. The Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) needs to be increased.  It must be meaningful, robust, and truly address poverty for people with disabilities. Join us in urging Parliament to ensure the CDB provides real support for people with disabilities.

Click here to learn more and get involved - English campaign

Click here to learn more and get involved - French campaign

The National Disability Network: Demand that Alberta Reverse Its Decision to Claw Back the CDB

Alberta is currently the only province/territory that has announced that it will be clawing back the CDB. This clawback will be made to payments under the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) program. Plan Institute and our partners at the National Disability Network have sent an open letter to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services Jason Nixon, urging them to reconsider their decision.

Read the letter here

Maytree: Advocacy toolkit – Preventing Canada Disability Benefit clawbacks 

Maytree has released a digital toolkit with documents to help organizations and individuals advocate and engage with government decision-makers to prevent CDB clawbacks in their province or territory. Some provinces and territories have already committed not to clawback social assistance. However, social assistance will be clawed back by default if no action is taken.

Click here to access Maytree’s Advocacy toolkit: Preventing CDB clawbacks

March of Dimes Canada and Maytree: No Clawbacks from the Canada Disability Benefit

March of Dimes Canada and Maytree have created an email template to tell your provincial or territorial representative to change social assistance regulations to prevent the CDB from clawing back social assistance. New Brunswick, Northwest Territories, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and the Yukon Territories have still not announced if they will claw back the CDB amount from existing provincial/territorial disability income support programs or services.

Click here to learn more about the campaign, and to email your provincial or territorial representative

Inclusion Canada

Inclusion Canada has been at the forefront of advocacy efforts surrounding the CDB. They remain committed to working with the federal government to ensure the CDB delivers meaningful results for people with disabilities.

Click here to see Inclusion Canada’s current CDB initiatives

Disability Without Poverty: 2024 Disability Poverty Report Card

Disability Without Poverty (DWP) and Campaign 2000 have released their second Disability Poverty Report Card. The Disability Poverty Report Card includes several recommendations for the Canada Disability Benefit, including raising the benefit amount and making eligibility more accessible.

Click here to learn more about the 2024 Disability Poverty Report Card

Advocacy in the News

We are proud to be part of a community that advocates for a better CDB. Community members are engaged in conversations and taking action to support CDB advocacy. Below are articles that discuss these conversations and initiatives.

April 2025

March 2025

November 2024

  • CDB: DABC's In-depth Review

  • Will the CDB Address Core Concerns for Indigenous Peoples? by Evelyn Huntjens

  • Why I Resigned from a CDB Advisory Group by Michael J Prince

  • Community Voices on the CDB

  • Disability Without Poverty Project Aims to Engage the Public by Amanda Lockitch

  • Plan Institute Developing Resources for the CDB by Stephanie Debisschop

September 2024

June 2024

April 2024