Federal Budget 2025 Takes a Step Forward on Access but Stops Short of Real Change

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 5, 2025

Toronto, ON – Inclusion Canada welcomes the government’s commitment in Budget 2025 to implement automatic income tax filing for low-income Canadians, an important step toward removing barriers to accessing critical benefits, including the new Canada Disability Benefit (CDB). Automatic tax filing will begin with 2025 returns filed in 2026 and targets simple low-income situations. We also are pleased to see the measure to provide a one-time $150 supplement toward Disability Tax Credit (DTC) medical certification costs for those applying for the DTC, retroactive to the CDB launch, a long-standing barrier that has kept many people from accessing the DTC and the new CDB.

However, despite these positive steps, Budget 2025 stops short of delivering real change. The Canada Disability Benefit remains too low and too narrow to lift people out of poverty or to make life truly more affordable for Canadians with disabilities.

“Automatic tax filing and covering the medical portion of the DTC application are measures Inclusion Canada has been calling on for some time, and we are pleased to see them announced,” said Krista Carr, Chief Executive Officer of Inclusion Canada. “Too many people with intellectual and other disabilities, particularly those living in poverty, lose access to life-changing benefits simply because they don’t or can’t file their income taxes. Now we must ensure that the benefits people qualify for as a result of filing their taxes are adequate, inclusive, and automatic,” concluded Carr.

While these measures align with Inclusion Canada’s long-standing calls to remove tax-filing barriers and barriers to accessing the DTC, Budget 2025 still leaves major gaps. The Canada Disability Benefit remains far below adequacy, with limited eligibility. People need a fully funded plan for an adequate benefit with dates and dollars.  

“As a parent of an adult with an intellectual disability, I know how crucial timely and accessible benefits are for families,” said Moira Wilson, President of Inclusion Canada. “Automatic tax filing and covering some of the costs for the DTC medical portion will help open the door for him and others, but the door still leads to benefits that are too low and out of reach for many. People with intellectual disabilities deserve a national benefit that will lift them out of poverty”, concluded Wilson.

Budget 2025 confirmed work to make the Canada Disability Benefit tax-exempt for the purposes of other federal income-tested benefits will be implemented, which we have been calling for and support. The Budget also proposed a temporary ‘top-up tax credit’ to address cases where the middle-class tax rate reduction (Bill C-4) could reduce the value of non-refundable credits, like the DTC, for some taxpayers. The budget also re-affirmed the government’s commitment to review and reform the process to apply for the DTC. These measures are all welcomed and they are positive steps forward, but we need urgent action to end poverty among persons with disabilities in this country. People simply cannot wait any longer.

At the same time, Inclusion Canada is deeply concerned by language in the budget suggesting potential cuts to programs within Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), the department responsible for many federal disability and inclusion initiatives. There are many programs within ESDC that are vital to persons with disabilities such as the Social Development Partnership Program – Disability Component (SDPP-D) and the Opportunities Fund (OF), that provide much needed support to persons with disabilities and their representative organizations. We would not want to see cuts to these and other vital programs.

“Programs that support people with disabilities are not redundant - they are essential,” said Krista Carr. “Canada’s obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities are clear: governments must consult with and resource disability-led organizations. Cuts to this funding, if they were to be made, would violate international law and silence the organizations the government is legally required to consult. We call on the government to protect disability programs and to co-design any changes with the disability community,” concluded Carr.

Inclusion Canada shares the government’s goal of making life more affordable, but stresses that this must include people with disabilities. Exclusion is expensive, both for individuals and for the nation. Canada will not reach its full economic potential if 27% of the population is left behind. 

For more on what Inclusion Canada's priorities for this budget, please read our Pre-Budget submission here.

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For Media Inquiries, please contact:

Jeff Ferguson,

Executive Director, Knowledge Mobilization & Transformation, Inclusion Canada

Email: jferguson@inclusioncanada.ca

Phone: 1-855-661-9611 ext. 231

Inclusion Canada is the national federation of 13 provincial/territorial member organizations and over 300 local associations working to advance the full inclusion and human rights of people with intellectual disabilities and their families. Inclusion Canada drives social change by strengthening families, defending rights, and transforming communities into places where everyone belongs.