Compliance Guide · Updated August 2026
The Accessible Canada Act, Explained for Organizations That Have to Comply
What the ACA actually requires, who it applies to, the real reporting deadlines, and how a federally regulated organization builds a compliant accessibility plan.
Direct answer
The Accessible Canada Act (ACA) is federal legislation, in force since July 11, 2019, that requires organizations under federal jurisdiction — the Government of Canada, Crown corporations, and federally regulated private-sector industries such as banking, telecommunications, and transportation — to identify, remove, and prevent barriers for people with disabilities. Its target is a barrier-free Canada by January 1, 2040. Regulated organizations must publish accessibility plans, set up a feedback process, and report on progress every three years.
Key facts
- The ACA applies to federal-jurisdiction organizations only — most provincially regulated businesses fall under laws like Ontario's AODA instead.
- It covers seven priority areas, including employment, the built environment, information and communication technology, and transportation.
- Large federally regulated private-sector organizations (100+ employees) filed their first accessibility plan by June 1, 2023; the next progress report is due in June 2026.
- Smaller federally regulated organizations (10–99 employees) had until June 1, 2024, for their first plan, with the next due June 2027.
- New Digital Technologies Accessibility Regulations, registered December 5, 2025, add specific ICT obligations, phasing in for the federal public sector in 2027 and large private-sector entities in 2028.
Definition
What is the Accessible Canada Act?
The Accessible Canada Act is Canada's first federal accessibility law. It received royal assent as S.C. 2019, c. 10 and came into force on July 11, 2019. The Act's stated purpose is to benefit all persons, especially persons with disabilities, by realizing a Canada without barriers — with that goal targeted for on or before January 1, 2040.
Rather than setting a single fixed technical standard, the ACA takes a proactive, systemic approach: regulated organizations must find barriers in their own operations before someone is harmed by them, publish a plan to remove those barriers, and report back on progress. A core principle behind the Act, often summarized as "Nothing Without Us," is that people with disabilities must be consulted when governments and organizations design the policies and programs that affect them.
The ACA sits alongside — not in place of — existing human-rights protections. An organization that technically meets its ACA obligations can still face a discrimination complaint under the Canadian Human Rights Act if a real barrier goes unaddressed.
Background
Where the ACA came from
The Act began as Bill C-81, tabled in June 2018 by Carla Qualtrough, then Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility, following government consultations that ran from 2016 and heard from more than 6,000 Canadians about barriers they faced. Qualtrough presented the bill for its final reading on June 21, 2019, when it received Royal Assent; it came into force three weeks later, on July 11, 2019.
The Act also created the Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization, since renamed Accessibility Standards Canada (ASC), as the body responsible for developing the technical accessibility standards that feed into federal regulations — including the 2025 Digital Technologies Accessibility Regulations described below.
Scope
Who has to comply with the ACA
The ACA only reaches organizations under federal jurisdiction. That includes:
- Government of Canada departments and agencies
- Parliament and parliamentary entities
- Crown corporations
- Federally regulated private-sector industries — banking, telecommunications, and interprovincial or international transportation (airlines, and rail, road, and marine carriers that cross a provincial or international border)
If your organization is provincially incorporated and doesn't operate in one of those federally regulated industries, the ACA generally does not apply to you directly — a retailer, school board, or municipality in Ontario, for example, is governed by the AODA instead, not the ACA. Confirming which regime applies is the first step; many organizations mistakenly assume "accessibility law in Canada" means one single standard.
Scope of the law
The seven priority areas
The ACA directs regulated organizations to identify, remove, and prevent barriers across seven priority areas:
| Priority area | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Employment | Hiring, retention, promotion, and workplace accommodation practices. |
| Built environment | Physical accessibility of buildings and spaces the organization occupies. |
| Information and communication technology (ICT) | Websites, applications, kiosks, and other digital systems. |
| Communication (other than ICT) | Includes recognition of American Sign Language, Quebec Sign Language, and Indigenous sign languages as the primary languages of Deaf people in Canada. |
| Procurement of goods, services, and facilities | Buying decisions that could create or avoid future barriers. |
| Design and delivery of programs and services | How the organization's programs actually work for people with disabilities. |
| Transportation | Airlines, and rail, road, and marine transportation providers that cross provincial or international borders. |
An accessibility plan doesn't need to treat all seven areas as equally urgent — but it does need to show the organization looked at each one and explain any area where no barriers were found, rather than skipping it silently.
Key dates
Compliance deadlines timeline
Reporting obligations are staggered by organization size, and new digital-accessibility regulations are layering additional deadlines on top of the original schedule.
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Jul 11, 2019
ACA comes into force.
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Jun 1, 2023
First accessibility plan due for large federally regulated private-sector organizations (100+ employees).
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Jun 1, 2024
First accessibility plan due for smaller federally regulated organizations (10–99 employees).
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Dec 5, 2025
Digital Technologies Accessibility Regulations registered, adding specific ICT compliance obligations under the ACA.
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Jun 2026
Next progress report due for large private-sector organizations (100+ employees).
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2027
Digital Technologies Accessibility Regulations begin taking effect for federal public-sector entities; next plan cycle due for smaller organizations (10–99 employees).
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2028
Digital Technologies Accessibility Regulations extend to large federally regulated private-sector entities (500+ employees for some obligations).
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Jan 1, 2040
Statutory target date for a barrier-free Canada.
Comparison
ACA vs. AODA vs. provincial accessibility laws
Canada doesn't have one accessibility law — it has a patchwork of a federal act plus separate provincial regimes. The ACA and Ontario's Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) are the two most commonly confused.
| Accessible Canada Act (ACA) | AODA (Ontario) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Federally regulated organizations only | Ontario public, private, and non-profit organizations |
| In force since | 2019 | 2005 |
| Target date | Barrier-free by January 1, 2040 | Accessibility target of January 1, 2025 |
| Structure | Plan → feedback → report, plus emerging technical regulations | Five standards covering customer service, information/communication, employment, built spaces, and transportation |
| Regulator | Accessibility Standards Canada / Accessibility Commissioner | Provincial government (AODA compliance office) |
British Columbia and Manitoba have their own accessibility statutes as well, each with their own scope and timelines. An organization operating in several provinces, or one that's federally regulated but also has provincial operations, can be subject to more than one law at once — which is why confirming jurisdiction is step one of any compliance project, not an afterthought.
How-to
Building an ACA accessibility plan
The Act doesn't prescribe a single template, but every accessibility plan needs to cover the same ground:
- Confirm scope. Establish that the organization is federally regulated and identify every priority area that applies to its operations.
- Consult people with disabilities. The Act's "Nothing Without Us" principle expects direct consultation, not an internal-only review.
- Identify barriers in each priority area. Audit the built environment, ICT systems, employment practices, and service delivery against recognized standards.
- Publish the accessibility plan in accessible formats, describing the barriers found and the organization's approach to removing and preventing them.
- Set up a feedback process so employees and the public can flag accessibility problems directly.
- Report progress against the plan on the required cycle, and update the plan at least every three years.
- Track incoming technical regulations — such as the 2025 Digital Technologies Accessibility Regulations — and adjust the plan as new obligations phase in.
Not sure where your organization stands on ICT accessibility? Techno Access runs Accessible Canada Act audits that map digital barriers against the ACA's priority areas before they show up in a compliance report.
Compliance risk
Enforcement and penalties
The Accessibility Commissioner, housed within the Canadian Human Rights Commission, can use a range of compliance tools under the ACA, including inspections, compliance orders, notices of violation, and administrative monetary penalties — with fines that can reach $250,000 per violation for organizations that fail to meet their obligations. Meeting ACA requirements on paper doesn't fully insulate an organization either: a person who experiences a real barrier can still bring a separate discrimination complaint under the Canadian Human Rights Act, independent of ACA reporting status.
Enforcement isn't handled by one office alone. The Accessibility Commissioner sits on the Council of Federal Accessibility Agencies alongside four other bodies with their own accessibility mandates: the Canadian Transportation Agency, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, and the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board. Which agency leads a given case depends on the sector — a transportation complaint typically routes through the Canadian Transportation Agency, for instance, while a broadcasting or telecom issue goes to the CRTC.
Parliament is required to review the Act five years after the first regulation is made, and the Minister must launch an independent review five years after that, with further independent reviews every ten years going forward — so the compliance bar is designed to keep moving rather than stay fixed.
Practical impact
What the ACA changes in practice
Because the ACA only reaches federal jurisdiction, its effect on any one person depends on where they interact with federally regulated services. According to ARCH Disability Law Centre, the Act is intended to make it more accessible for people with disabilities to:
- work for the Government of Canada and other federally regulated employers, including banks, railways, airlines, and trucking companies;
- receive federal benefits such as Canada Pension Plan – Disability, Employment Insurance, and the Registered Disability Savings Plan;
- apply for the Disability Tax Credit and deal with the Canada Revenue Agency;
- travel on planes, trains, and inter-provincial buses; and
- file and have a complaint heard by bodies such as the Canadian Human Rights Commission, the Canadian Transportation Agency, the CRTC, the Immigration and Refugee Board, or the Social Security Tribunal.
On the public-service side, the Government of Canada's 2019 accessibility strategy set a commitment to hire 5,000 public servants who identify as people with disabilities over five years (roughly 1,000 per year), backed by $53 million in funding over six years. Since April 1, 2020, the Treasury Board's Policy on Service and Digital has also made the Chief Information Officer of Canada responsible for setting enterprise-wide digital accessibility standards that federal departments must follow — the administrative backbone behind the ICT priority area.
The Act also names the last Sunday in May as the start of National AccessAbility Week, an annual event recognizing the contributions of Canadians with disabilities and promoting accessibility in workplaces and communities.
For federally regulated organizations, the ICT priority area is usually where the most concrete work happens first — see how Techno Access approaches it in a website accessibility audit, or read more on the Techno Access blog.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Does the Accessible Canada Act apply to my business?
Only if your organization is federally regulated — the Government of Canada, a Crown corporation, or a private-sector business in banking, telecommunications, or interprovincial/international transportation. Provincially regulated businesses fall under provincial laws like the AODA instead.
When did the Accessible Canada Act come into force?
July 11, 2019.
What is the ACA's target date for a barrier-free Canada?
January 1, 2040.
How often do organizations report on their accessibility plan?
Every three years, with an updated plan and progress reports in between, on a schedule set by organization size.
What's the difference between the ACA and the AODA?
The ACA is federal and applies only to federally regulated organizations. The AODA is an Ontario provincial law that applies to a much broader range of Ontario public, private, and non-profit organizations.
Do the new digital accessibility regulations apply to every organization?
No. The Digital Technologies Accessibility Regulations exempt federally regulated private-sector entities with an average of 99 or fewer employees, while some obligations apply only to entities with 500 or more employees.
What happens if an organization doesn't comply with the ACA?
The Accessibility Commissioner can issue compliance orders and administrative monetary penalties, which can reach $250,000 per violation. Separately, individuals can still file discrimination complaints under the Canadian Human Rights Act.
Who enforces the Accessible Canada Act?
Enforcement is shared across the Council of Federal Accessibility Agencies: the Accessibility Commissioner, the Canadian Transportation Agency, the CRTC, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, and the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board. Which one leads depends on the sector involved.
Who introduced the Accessible Canada Act?
Carla Qualtrough, then Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility, tabled Bill C-81 in June 2018. It received Royal Assent on June 21, 2019, and came into force on July 11, 2019.
Sources
References
- Summary of the Accessible Canada Act — Government of Canada
- Accessible Canada Act, S.C. 2019, c. 10 — Justice Laws Website
- About the Accessible Canada Act — Canadian Human Rights Commission
- Federal Government Finalizes New Digital Technologies Accessibility Regulations — Blakes (Jan 2026)
- Fact Sheet – What is the Accessible Canada Act? — ARCH Disability Law Centre
- Accessible Canada Act — Wikipedia (background and legislative history; verify against primary sources above for compliance decisions)
This page is a plain-language summary for general information. It is not legal advice; for a specific compliance determination, consult the Act's full text or qualified counsel.