Welcome to the Blogging to Berlin Series! With less than a month until I fly out to Germany for the 2025 Global Disability Summit, you can expect to see a LOT more blogs on disability rights, legislation, and monitoring in Canada!

As I gear up for grad school, this blog also marks the start of me acting on my commitment to create accessible, open-access resources on the more nerdy aspects of accessibility and disability – to help my disabled peers out there understand and claim their rights!

To get things started, I wanted to share a timeline of disability rights in Canada that I had the privilege of developing as part of my work as Communications & Partnerships Director for the National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS). I have so much love for this organization and the work they do, so make sure to check them – and their incredible scholarship program – out!

While I did my best to cover key events in this timeline, disability history is changing and evolving every day! Don’t be afraid to drop a comment or shoot me an email if you’d like to see something added – and I’ll make sure to credit you 🙂

Trigger Warning: Institutionalization, Sterilization, Segregation, Murder, Medical Assistance in Dying

1800s

With widespread trust in state and church-run institutions and unchallenged ableist discrimination, disabled people are institutionalized in segregated residential settings without their consent – leading to mass human rights violations including forced sterilization, abuse, and murder.

• 1839: The British Government passes An Act to Authorize the Erection of an Asylum within its Province for the Reception of Insane and Lunatic persons
• 1850: The Provincial Lunatic Asylum is opened in Toronto, becoming the first Canadian mental institution
• 1876: The Asylum for Idiots and Feeble-Minded (later renamed the Huronia Regional Centre) is opened in Ontario – there are now 1440 unmarked graves and 571 numbered graves on this site alone

1950s

Following WWII, disabled veterans and civilians band together to demand improved disability services, mainstream inclusion of disability, and the end of institutionalization.

• 1918: War Amps is established to support returning veterans who experienced amputation as a result of battle injuries, becoming one of the first organizations for persons with disabilities
• 1928: The Alberta Government passes the Sexual Sterilization Act, which gave the Alberta Eugenics Board authority to force those living in government-run institutions into sterilization without consent or awareness, becoming the first part of the British Empire to legislate involuntary sterilization – BC would follow suit in 1933 with the Sexual Sterilization Act of British Columbia
• 1955: The Saskatchewan Association for Community Living forms and becomes the first organization to call for deinstitutionalization
• 1958: The Canadian Association for R*tarded Children (now the Canadian Association for Community Living) is formed to advocate for improved education and services for children with intellectual disabilities

1970s

Thanks to the advocacy work of growing grassroots disability organizations, the 1970s saw governments slowly introduce legislation to cement progress.

• 1974: Nova Scotia amends its Human Rights Act to prohibit discrimination against the physically disabled
• 1975: The Ontario Government creates the disabled-led Ontario Advisory Council for the Physically Handicapped
• 1976: Provincial disability groups band together to create the Coalition of Provincial Organizations of the Handicapped (COPOH) – now known as the Council of Canadians with Disabilities

• 1977: The Canadian Human Rights Act passes and prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability, amongst others, with disability defined as a previous or existing mental or physical disability, including disfigurement and drug/alcohol dependence 
• 1978: Quebec’s Act to secure handicapped persons in the exercise of their rights with a view to achieving social, school and workplace integration

1980s

Disability issues rapidly build momentum to become a significant federal priority – but legislative progress is threatened by neoliberal cuts to social services.

• 1980: COPOH protests on Parliament Hill to demand inclusion in Charter, after policymakers argued disability is “too vague” to include
• 1981: Thanks to civil society’s advocacy efforts, the Parliamentary Committee drafting the Charter unanimously agrees to include disability under Section 15
• 1981: The federal government releases The Obstacles Report – advancing 130 recommendations for improving accessibility and inclusion with emphasis on disability leadership and supporting self-help
• 1982: The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability
• 1985: The Canadian Human Rights Act bans discrimination on the basis of disability, and requires federally regulated employers to provide accommodations
• 1986: The Employment Equity Act comes into force to address employment barriers faced by women, visible minorities, Indigenous peoples, and persons with disabilities
• 1987: The House of Commons establishes a Standing Committee on the Status of Disabled Persons under the Mulroney Government

1990s

Under an increasingly neoliberal and globalized economy, the Federal Government introduces several domestic initiatives to mainstream disability.

• 1991: The federal government publishes the National Strategy for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities, a 5-year plan to integrate disabled people into society and the economy
• 1996: The federal government appoints a Federal Task Force on Disability Issues
• 1997: The federal government establishes the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities to their (self) employment
• 1998: The federal government publishes In Unison: A Canadian Approach to Disability Issues that largely focuses on disability supports, employment, and income

2000s

The disability rights landscape explodes under landmark Supreme Court rulings, the introduction of further accessibility legislation, and the signing of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – but fades from federal agendas.

• 2001: The federal Office for Disability Issues is established to coordinate policies and programs across federal jurisdiction
• 2001: The Ontarians with Disabilities Act passes and requires the provincial government eliminate barriers, despite limited enforcement measures and scope
• 2001: The Supreme Court hears R v Latimer, ruling that Latimer’s murder of his disabled daughter Tracy is not justified
• 2003: The Supreme Court of Canada hears Starson v Swayze and rules that Starson had the right to refuse psychiatric medication because the Consent and Capacity board had insufficient evidence
• 2005: The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act comes into force to develop accessibility standards around goods, services, employment, and the built environment
• 2006: The federal government releases the Federal Disability Report and announces plans to create a National Disability Act
• 2007: Canada signs the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD)
• 2007: The Supreme Court of Canada hears CCD v Via Rail, siding with the Council of Canadians with Disabilities
• 2008: The Canadian Transportation Agency ordered Air Canada, Air Canada Jazz and WestJet to adopt a 1P1F policy for persons with severe disabilities
• 2009: The final three institutions for persons with intellectual disabilities in Ontario are closed, including the Huronia Regional Centre

2010s

The CRPD renews efforts towards mainstreaming disability, and more provinces join Quebec and Ontario in enacting accessibility legislation!

• 2010: Canada ratifies the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) as it enters into force
• 2012: A landmark Supreme Court of Canada ruling says mentally disabled adults can give reliable court testimony
• 2013: Manitoba passes the Accessibility for Manitobans Act, and later implements a series of accessibility regulations around employment, transportation, outdoor spaces, and more
• 2015: The Supreme Court of Canada rules in Carter v Canada that the Criminal Code must be amended to decriminalize physician-assisted suicide for persons with disabilities, known as Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID)
• 2016: Bill-C14: An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make related amendments to other Acts (medical assistance in dying) comes into force, exempting physicians providing MAID from criminal prosecution
• 2017: Nova Scotia passes An Act Respecting Accessibility in Nova Scotia
• 2018: CBC’s “Deadly Force” report documents all known police executions in Canada from 2000-2017, identifying that over 70% of those killed had mental health and/or substance use issues
• 2019: The Accessible Canada Act passes, introducing requirements for federally-regulated bodies
• 2019: The Superior Court of Québec rules in Truchon V Canada that the eligibility criteria of “reasonable foreseeability of natural death” was unconstitutional and required wider eligibility for all persons with disabilities

2020s

Despite significant setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic, provinces continued to enact legislation as the federal government continues mainstreaming efforts.

• 2020: Bill C-7: An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying) is introduced in Parliament in response to the 2019 Quebec Court ruling
• 2021: British Columbia passes the Accessible British Columbia Act
• 2021: Newfoundland and Labrador pass An Act Respecting Accessibility in the Province
• 2022: The Disability Inclusion Action Plan is published, emphasizing finance, employment, and communities
• 2023: Saskatchewan passes The Accessible Saskatchewan Act
• 2024: The Canada Disability Benefit Act enters into force, requiring the government to begin delivering this federal income top-up within 12 months.
• 2025: The Canada Disability Benefit Regulations are published, detailing a maximum amount of $200/month and eligibility criteria requiring a burdensome Disability Tax Certificate.

Sources

• The “Unfit” in Canada: A History of Disability Rights and Justice, Shanthiya Baheerathan and the DJNO Youth Action Council (2019) (Link)
• People with Disabilities Significant Historical Events, Inclusion Canada (Link)
• Disability Rights Movement in Canada, The Canadian Encyclopedia (2015) (Link)
• Council of Canadians with Disabilities: 48 years strong and “On The Road to 50 Years”, Council of Canadians with Disabilities (2011) (Link)
• Accessibility legislation, standards, and regulations in Canada (2024), BDO Canada (Link)
• “Legislative Background: Bill C-7: Government of Canada’s Legislative Response to the Superior Court of Québec Truchon Decision” Justice Canada, 2021 (Link)
• “Medical assistance in dying: Legislation in Canada” Health Canada, 2024 (Link)