Barriers to Accessibility in Canada: Communication and Internet Use, 2022
Released: 2025-03-24
In 2022, out of 8 million Canadians aged 15 years and older with one or more disabilities, 3.8 million (48%) faced communication barriers and 1.4 million (17%) faced Internet use barriers during the 12 months prior to the Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD). Furthermore, in 2024, 46% of persons with long-term conditions or disabilities had experienced difficulties, during the preceding three months, while using a technological device such as a smartphone or laptop because of their condition.
To inform the Accessible Canada Act (ACA), Statistics Canada is releasing several products using data from the 2022 CSD and the 2024 Survey Series on Accessibility – Experiences with Accessibility and Information and Communication Technology (SSA-EAICT). These products explore barriers to accessibility, defined by the ACA as anything that prevents persons with disabilities from fully participating in society, and reflect two priority areas included in the ACA for identification, prevention and removal of barriers: information and communication technologies (ICT); and communication, other than ICT.
There are two reports being released today: "Barriers to accessibility related to communication: Findings from the 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability" and "Barriers to accessibility related to Internet use: Findings from the 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability," which focus on the prevalence of accessibility barriers related to communication and Internet use across various disability-related and sociodemographic characteristics. Additionally, an infographic and data tables with findings from the SSA-EAICT exploring the experiences of persons with disabilities or long-term conditions with barriers related to ICT are now available.
The most commonly cited barriers related to communication involve in-person communication
In 2022, close to one in three persons with disabilities (29%) experienced barriers when communicating in person with family or close friends, and more than one in four experienced barriers when communicating in person with medical or health care professionals (27%) or with others such as the general public, customer service, or government representatives (26%).
Chart 1
Barriers to accessibility related to communication, persons with disabilities aged 15 years and older in Canada, by situation, 2022
More than 1 in 8 (13%) persons with disabilities in Canada experienced barriers when using the Internet for online access to government information, services or supports, and around 1 in 10 experienced barriers when booking for appointments, services or reservations online (11%), or while banking or shopping online (9%).
Chart 2
Barriers to accessibility related to Internet use, persons with disabilities aged 15 years and older in Canada, by situation, 2022
Difficulties downloading or installing programs or applications are the most common barriers experienced while using a cellphone
In 2024, nearly 3 in 10 (29%) persons with disabilities or long-term conditions reported barriers while using their cellphone in the past three months. The most common types of difficulties experienced were related to downloading or installing programs or applications (12%), operating a touchscreen (11%) and manipulating controls such as buttons or dials (10%).
One in four persons with disabilities and long-term conditions experience a barrier while using communication-related activities online
In 2024, one in four (25%) persons with disabilities or long-term conditions experienced a barrier while performing communication-related activities online. The three most commonly experienced difficulties were a lack of adjustable settings (10%), difficulty accessing support services (10%) and time limits to complete actions (9%) on communication-related tools.
Barriers to accessibility are more commonly experienced by those with very severe disabilities and multiple disability types
In 2022, the prevalence of communication-related and Internet-related barriers to accessibility increased with disability severity and number of disability types.
Nearly two-thirds (65%) of those with a very severe disability experienced barriers related to communication, while these barriers were experienced by one-third (33%) of those with a mild disability. Similarly, 64% of those with four or more disability types experienced communication-related barriers, compared with 32% of those with one disability type.
Barriers related to Internet use were experienced by 28% of those with a very severe disability, compared with 9% of those with a mild disability. Nearly half (47%) of those with four or more disability types experienced Internet-related barriers, while such barriers were experienced by 8% of those with one disability type.
Individuals with unmet needs for disability supports or help with everyday activities are more likely to experience barriers
Similar to findings on barriers to accessibility related to public spaces and barriers related to behaviours, misconceptions or assumptions, barriers related to communication and Internet use were more common among those with unmet needs for disability supports, such as personal assistive aids and devices, medications, and healthcare therapies and services. In 2022, communication-related barriers were experienced by 57% of individuals with unmet needs for disability supports and 35% of those with their support needs met. Internet-related barriers were experienced by 22% of those with unmet disability support needs and 10% of those with their disability support needs met.
In addition, individuals with unmet needs for help with daily activities were more likely to experience communication barriers (63% vs. 26% of those whose needs for help with daily activities were met) and Internet use barriers (39% vs. 12%).
2SLGBTQ+ persons and those with lower income are more likely to experience barriers related to communication and Internet use
In 2022, more than three in five (61%) 2SLGBTQ+ persons with a disability experienced barriers related to communication, and one in five (20%) experienced barriers related to Internet use. Among non-2SLGBTQ+ persons with a disability, the prevalence of these barriers was lower, with 45% experiencing barriers related to communication and 17% experiencing barriers related to Internet use. Previous analysis of 2SLGBTQ+ persons with disabilities in Canada found that 2SLGBTQ+ individuals experienced communication barriers at higher rates across all age groups, while barriers related to Internet use were experienced at higher rates in some age groups and similar rates in others.
Additionally, persons with lower income experienced barriers at higher rates than those with higher income. More than half (53%) of persons with disabilities in the lowest income quintile experienced barriers related to communication, compared with 43% of persons with disabilities in the highest income quintile. Similarly, barriers related to Internet use were more prevalent among persons with disabilities in the lowest income quintile (20%) than among persons with disabilities in the highest income quintile (14%).
Youth experience barriers to accessibility at different rates than those in older age groups
Among persons with a disability in Canada, barriers to accessibility related to communication were experienced at a higher rate by youth aged 15 to 24 years (54%) than by persons aged 25 to 44 years (49%), 45 to 64 years (43%) or 65 years and older (50%) in 2022.
Chart 3
Persons with disabilities who experienced barriers related to communication, by age group, 2022
In contrast, youth aged 15 to 24 years were less likely to experience barriers related to Internet use (15%) than persons aged 45 to 64 years (18%), but experienced Internet-related barriers at the same rate as persons aged 25 to 44 years or 65 years and older.
Chart 4
Persons with disabilities who experienced barriers related to Internet use, by age group, 2022
Persons with unmet needs and more severe disabilities have higher odds of experiencing barriers related to communication and Internet use
When controlling for other factors, persons with very severe disabilities had three times higher odds than those with mild disabilities of experiencing communication-related barriers and barriers related to Internet use in 2022.
Similarly, persons with disabilities who had unmet needs for disability supports or help with everyday activities had two times higher odds of experiencing barriers related to communication and barriers related to Internet use, when controlling for other variables.
Hearing, developmental and mental health-related disabilities are associated with two times higher odds of experiencing barriers related to communication
In 2022, among persons with a disability aged 15 years and older, the odds of experiencing communication-related barriers were more than twice as high among persons with a hearing disability compared with those without a hearing disability, after controlling for other factors. Similarly, persons with a developmental disability had more than two times higher odds of experiencing barriers related to communication than those without a developmental disability, and those with a mental health-related disability had two times higher odds of experiencing communication-related barriers than those without a mental health-related disability.
When controlling for other factors, dexterity, learning, and memory disabilities were also associated with higher odds of experiencing communication-related barriers compared with individuals without these disability types. In contrast, having a pain-related disability was associated with lower odds of experiencing communication-related barriers.
Seeing, hearing, dexterity, learning, developmental, mental health-related and memory disabilities were associated with higher odds of experiencing barriers related to Internet use compared with individuals without these disability types.
Youth and 2SLGBTQ+ persons with disabilities have higher odds of experiencing barriers to accessibility related to communication
In 2022, the odds of experiencing barriers to accessibility related to communication were higher for youth than for those in older age groups when controlling for other factors. In contrast, the odds of experiencing barriers related to Internet use were not significantly different between youth and those in older age groups when controlling for other factors.
Additionally, 2SLGBTQ+ persons with disabilities had higher odds of experiencing communication-related and Internet-related barriers, consistent with the findings of the descriptive analysis.
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Note to readers
The Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD) sample is selected from the Census of Population respondents, making it a postcensal survey. For methodological details see Surveys and statistical programs - Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD).
The Government of Canada adopted the acronym 2SLGBTQI+ to refer to Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex people and those who use other terms related to gender and sexual diversity. Statistics Canada uses the acronym 2SLGBTQ+ for data analysis purposes, as information is not yet collected specifically about intersex people. The term "non-2SLGBTQ+" is used to refer to people who are both cisgender (people whose reported gender corresponds to their reported sex at birth) and heterosexual. See Improving data on 2SLGBTQ+ populations and Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan 2022 for more information. The CSD asks respondents their sex at birth, gender (male, female, other) and sexual orientation (heterosexual, lesbian or gay, bisexual or other). This analysis classified any respondents who were not cisgender (people whose reported gender corresponds to their reported sex at birth) and not heterosexual as belonging to the 2SLGBTQ+ population.
A global severity score was developed for the CSD, which was calculated for each person using the number of disability types that a person has, the level of difficulty experienced in performing certain tasks, and the frequency of activity limitations. To simplify the concept of severity, four severity classes were established: mild, moderate, severe, and very severe. "Mild" and "moderate" classes were collapsed into "milder" while "severe" and "very severe" classes were collapsed into "more severe." It is important to understand, however, that the name assigned to each class is simply intended to facilitate use of the severity score and is not a label or judgment concerning the person's level of disability.
The CSD collected information on 27 types of barriers to accessibility, touching on the Accessible Canada Act priority areas of Built Environment, Communication, and Information and Communication Technology. These barriers do not represent a comprehensive list of barriers to accessibility. Respondents were asked if they experienced barriers because of their condition using the response categories of "not applicable," "never," "sometimes," "often" and "always." Respondents who indicated that they experienced barriers "sometimes," "often" or "always" are included as having experienced a barrier at least sometimes. See the 2022 CSD questionnaire for more information on the barriers to accessibility included within the survey.
The Survey Series on Accessibility – Experiences with Accessibility and Information and Communication Technology (SSA – EAICT), was collected from October 15 to November 17, 2024. Participants in the SSA – EAICT were identified as having a disability through their participation in the 2022 CSD, and some participants continued to be considered to have a disability in a similar manner in 2024 as they did in 2022. For the SSA – EAICT, respondents were asked about any long-term health conditions or difficulties they had with seeing; hearing; walking, using stairs, using their hands or fingers, or doing other physical activities; learning, remembering or concentrating; any emotional, psychological or mental health condition; or any other health problem or long-term condition. Only conditions that have lasted or are expected to last six months or more were included.
The SSA is a sample survey with a cross-sectional design. It is based on a probability panel consisting of individuals who agreed to participate in further studies when they responded to the 2022 CSD. As a result of this methodology, it has a low cumulative response rate, which increases the risk of bias. For methodological details see Survey and statistical programs – Survey Series on Accessibility.
All differences mentioned in this release are statistically significant (p < 0.05). Estimates in this release include any non-response cases. The inclusion or exclusion of these cases depends on the objective of the analysis. Future products may take different approaches.
Products
The reports "Barriers to accessibility related to Internet use: Findings from the 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability" and "Barriers to accessibility related to communication: Findings from the 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability" which are part of the Reports on Disability and Accessibility in Canada (89-654-X), are now available.
The infographic "Technology-related barriers faced by persons with disabilities or long-term conditions, 2024" is now available in the series Statistics Canada – Infographics (11-627-M).
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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