Program directory · Employment and Social Development Canada
Canada Disability Benefit
- Department
- Employment and Social Development Canada
- Program code
- BGN05 (HRSD)
- Core responsibility
- Pensions and Benefits
- In Departmental Plans
- 2025-26 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The Canada Disability Benefit is an income-tested benefit for eligible low- and modest-income, working-age (18-64) individuals with severe and prolonged disabilities. The benefit is meant to reduce poverty and support financial and social security among persons with disabilities. It aims to supplement existing disability support programs and is not intended to be an income replacement benefit.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2024-25. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada Recovery Benefits | Earlier program (name match, low confidence) | 2020-21 – 2026-27 | $33.4B |
| Canada Disability Benefit | This program | 2024-25 – 2028-29 | $2.3M |
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | Planned employees (FTEs) 179, against 18 in 2024-25 (+894%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2025-26 | Appears to replace Canada Recovery Benefits | Canada Spends name match across plans (an inference) |
| 2025-26 | Planned spending $774M, against $2.3M in 2024-25 (+33918%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
| 2026-27 | Planned spending $1.12B, against $774M in 2025-26 (+45%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
No results reported yet.
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | Not available | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | — | $2.3M |
| 2025-26 | $774M | — |
| 2026-27 | $1.12B | — |
| 2027-28 | $1.22B* | — |
| 2028-29 | $1.42B* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | — | 18 |
| 2025-26 | 179 | — |
| 2026-27 | 158 | — |
| 2027-28 | 178* | — |
| 2028-29 | 185* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 plan | $773,794,552 | $1,120,086,088 | $1,220,894,593 | |
| 2026-27 plan | $1,119,740,857 | $1,220,328,320 | $1,421,324,360 | |
| Actual |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
