Will the CDB Affect Other Benefits?

Last Updated: July 4, 2025

There is concern that the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) may prompt clawbacks of other benefits. A clawback happens when a person’s income assistance benefit is reduced because they have income from somewhere else, and can mean that the person is no better off even though they are receiving an additional benefit, such as the CDB.

The CDB will not reduce the amount you receive from other federal income benefits, including the Canada Child Benefit, the Canada Workers Benefit, and the GST/HST Credit.

However, to stop the CDB from clawing back provincial and territorial social assistance, each province or territory must list it as exempt income. If no action is taken, the CDB will automatically result in clawbacks.

Each province or territory will establish its own policy regarding whether the CDB will clawback other social assistance programs. The following provinces and territories have announced that there will be no clawbacks:

• British Columbia: Persons with Disabilities (PWD)

• Manitoba: Manitoba Supports for Persons with Disabilities

• New Brunswick: All services under social assistance / Family Supports for Children with Disabilities Program / Disability Support Program / Long Term Care Program

• Newfoundland and Labrador: Newfoundland and Labrador income supplement / Newfoundland and Labrador disability amount / Newfoundland and Labrador disability benefit

• Nova Scotia: Income Assistance

• Nunavut: Income Assistance

• Ontario: Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) / Ontario Works / Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities (ACSD)

• Prince Edward Island: Assured Income and other social assistance

• Quebec: Basic Income Program / Social Solidarity Program

• Saskatchewan: Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability (SAID)

• Yukon: Social assistance, including the Yukon Supplementary Allowance

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. The Alberta Government has indicated they will require AISH recipients to apply for the Canada Disability Benefit. We are waiting on explicit confirmation of any mandatory timeframe for people to apply, as well as whether those not yet approved for the Disability Tax Credit will be required to apply in order to keep their AISH benefits. We will update this webpage as soon as we have more information to support Albertans receiving AISH.

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.

The remaining provinces and territories have not yet made their decisions. We will update this section as new information becomes available.

During the 2024 Fall Economic Statement, the federal government called on provinces and territories to ensure the CDB does not result in clawbacks of other benefits and said it would take action to prevent this happening.

At Plan Institute, we have been advocating alongside our partner organizations to ensure that there are no clawbacks and people can receive the full amount of the CDB. Maytree has created the Advocacy toolkit: Preventing Canada Disability Benefit clawbacks to help organizations and individuals advocate and reach out to government decision-makers to prevent clawbacks related to the CDB in their province or territory.