Canada at a Glance, 2023
Accessibility and Persons with disabilities

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The Canadian Survey on Disability…in brief

The Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD) is a national survey on Canadians aged 15 and older whose everyday activities are limited because of a long-term condition or health-related problem. It is the official source for data on Persons with disabilities in Canada.


Table 4
Percentage of Canadians with a disability by age group, 2017 and 2022
Table summary
This table displays the results of Percentage of Canadians with a disability by age group. The information is grouped by Age Group (appearing as row headers), 2022 and 2017, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Age group 2022 2017
percent
Total, aged 15 and older 27.0 22.3
Youth, aged 15 to 24 20.1 13.1
Working-aged adults, aged 25 to 64 24.1 20.0
Seniors, aged 65 and older 40.4 37.8
Note: All changes from 2017 to 2022 are statistically significant (p < .05).
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2022.

Table 5
Percentage of Canadians with a disability by gender and age group, 2022
Table summary
This table displays the results of Percentage of Canadians with a disability by gender and age group. The information is grouped by Age Group (appearing as row headers), Men + and Women +, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Age group Men + Women +
percent
Total, aged 15 and older 23.9 29.9Note *
Youth, aged 15 to 24 15.8 24.7Note *
Working-aged adults, aged 25 to 64 21.1 26.9Note *
Seniors, aged 65 and older 38.9 41.8Note *
Note *

significantly different between women and men (p < .05).

Return to note * referrer

Note: The category “Women+” includes women and some non-binary persons, while the category “Men+” includes men and some non-binary persons. Given the small size of the non-binary population, data aggregation to a two-category gender variable is sometimes necessary to protect the confidentiality of the responses provided.
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2022.

Table 6
Disability rate for provinces and territories, and the change in rate from between 2017 and 2022
Table summary
This table displays the results of Disability rate for provinces and territories. The information is grouped by Province/territory (appearing as row headers), 2022 and Change in rate from 2017, calculated using percent and percentage points units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Province/territory 2022 Change in rate from 2017
percent percentage points
Canada 27.0 +4.7Note *
Newfoundland and Labrador 30.9 +7.3Note *
Prince Edward Island 31.8 +5.8Note *
Nova Scotia 37.9 +7.6Note *
New Brunswick 35.3 +8.6Note *
Quebec 21.0 +4.8Note *
Ontario 28.0 +3.9Note *
Manitoba 29.2 +4.4Note *
Saskatchewan 29.8 +5.5Note *
Alberta 27.5 +5.8Note *
British Columbia 28.6 +3.9Note *
Yukon 31.4 +6.3Note *
Northwest Territories 25.7 +5.7Note *
Nunavut 19.3 +1.1
Note *

The change between 2022 and 2017 is statistically significant (p < .05).

Return to note * referrer

Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2022.

Table 7
Prevalence of disability types among persons with disabilities aged 15 and older, 2017 and 2022
Table summary
This table displays the results of Prevalence of disability types among persons with disabilities aged 15 and over. The information is grouped by Disability Type (appearing as row headers), 2022 and 2017, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Disability type 2022 2017
percent
Pain-related 61.8 65.0Note *
Flexibility 40.3 44.7Note *
Mobility 39.2 42.8Note *
Mental health-related 38.6 32.5Note *
Seeing 27.4 24.3Note *
Learning 20.7 17.7Note *
Hearing 20.7 21.4
Dexterity 18.4 20.4Note *
Memory 18.2 16.8Note *
Developmental 5.7 5.1Note *
Unknown 2.8 2.5
Note *

The change between 2022 and 2017 is statistically significant (p < .05).

Return to note * referrer

Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2022.

Table 8
Labour force status for persons aged 25 to 64 years with and without a disability, 2017 and 2022
Table summary
This table displays the results of Labour force status for persons with and without a disability aged 25 to 64 Employed, Unemployed and Not in the labour force, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Employed Unemployed Not in the labour force
percent
Persons with a disability, 2022 61.8 7.8 30.4
Persons with a disability, 2017 59.3 5.4 35.3
Persons without a disability, 2022 77.8 6.5 15.8
Persons without a disability, 2017 80.1 4.7 15.2
Note: Differences from 2017 to 2022 for the same labour force status for persons with a disability are statistically significant (p < .05); differences from 2017 to 2022 for the same labour force status for persons without a disability are statistically significant (p < .05) except persons not in the labour force; differences between persons with a disability and persons without a disability for the same labour force status in the same year are statistically significant (p < .05) except for those unemployed in 2017; differences among labour force statuses for the same year and same disability status are all statistically significant (p < .05).
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2022.

Did you know?

  • In 2022, 27% of Canadians, or 8.0 million people aged 15 and older, had at least one disability. This represents an increase of five percentage points from 2017.
  • Among persons with a disability, the most common disability type in 2022, as it was in 2017, was pain-related disability; 62% of persons with a disability reported this type of disability.
  • The prevalence of mental health-related, seeing, learning, memory, and developmental disabilities increased between 2017 and 2022.


More information

ISSN: 1701-5766

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Published by authority of the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada.

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Industry, 2022

All rights reserved. Use of this publication is governed by the Statistics Canada Open Licence Agreement.

Catalogue no. 12-581-X

Frequency: Annual

Ottawa

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Main page
A word from the Chief Statistician
Population
Immigration and ethnocultural diversity
Indigenous Peoples
Indigenous languages
Accessibility and Persons with disabilities
2SLGBTQ+ population
Women and girls
Health
Education
Criminality
Digital society
40 million Canadians: A milestone moment
Income
Housing
Prices and inflation
Labour
Economy
International trade
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Tourism
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Environment
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