According to the 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD), more than one in four Canadians (27%) aged 15 years and older, or 8.0 million people, had one or more disabilities that limited them in their daily activities. As well, more than 7 in 10 (72%) persons with disabilities experienced 1 or more of 27 types of barriers to accessibility within the areas of public spaces, communication, internet use, and behaviours, misconceptions or assumptions.
New findings from the 2022 CSD, released this week in support of National AccessAbility Week, provide a comprehensive overview of disability characteristics of Canadians aged 15 and older, as well as the employment experiences of persons with disabilities
The new findings indicate persons with disabilities had lower rates of employment than those without disabilities, and persons with mild disabilities were more likely to be employed than those with very severe disabilities. In addition, more than 741,000 persons with disabilities who were not working (42% of those aged 25 to 64 years) had potential for paid employment in an inclusive labour market.
Also launching this week is a new tool to measure Canada’s progress in addressing a range of barriers to accessibility. The Barriers to accessibility among persons with disabilities data visualization tool allows users to select a barrier and view the latest data, which can be broken down by disability type, severity, age group, gender and geography.
Note to readers
This year, the theme for National AccessAbility Week is "Forward Together: Accessibility and Inclusion for All," emphasizing the need for collective efforts to create a barrier-free Canada. Our country's strength lies in the diversity of its people—all its people—and we can all contribute to this vision.
The Accessible Canada Act came into force in 2019, and the goal of this legislation is to make Canada barrier-free by 2040.
The Canadian Survey on Disability provides information about Canadian youth and adults whose everyday activities are limited due to a long-term condition or health-related problem. Data may be used to plan and evaluate services, policies and programs.
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For more information, contact the Statistical Information Service (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).