Alberta UCP Disability Supports: Promises vs. Reality
The United Conservative Party (UCP) governments of Premiers Jason Kenney (2019–2022) and Danielle Smith (2022–present) have repeatedly claimed to champion Albertans with disabilities. They have pointed to record-high spending and new initiatives as evidence of support. However, disability advocates and watchdogs suggest a gap between the UCP’s rhetoric and the reality on the ground. This report examines funding allocations and policy changes affecting Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH), the upcoming Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP), housing, education, accessibility, and employment supports. It analyzes whether the UCP’s actions have genuinely improved conditions for persons with disabilities or if positive spin has masked cuts, clawbacks, and restrictions.
AISH Funding: Increases on Paper, Cuts in Practice
Record Budgets vs. Indexing Freeze: The UCP inherited an AISH program that had been indexed to inflation in 2018. In its first budget, the Kenney government de-indexed AISH in 2019, meaning benefits would no longer rise with the cost of living. This effectively reduced support over time, even though the nominal maximum benefit remained about $1,685 per month (for a single person) through 2022. Minister Rajan Sawhney insisted in 2020 that “no changes have been made” to AISH benefits and “there will be no cuts to AISH financial benefits”. She even noted the total AISH budget was at its highest ever (about $1.29 billion). Yet freezing indexation was a cut in real terms – a point advocates and the opposition stressed, saying de-indexing “cut AISH” by eroding its value.
Hidden Fiscal Maneuvers: In early 2020, the UCP changed AISH payment dates in a way that delayed one month’s payment into the next fiscal year. The government framed this as an administrative alignment to help clients (paying on the 1st of the month instead of the end) but the Auditor General found it was done to “record only 11 months” of AISH payments in 2019–20, deferring about $152 million in expenses. The Auditor General forced a $102 million adjustment to properly account for the full year. Advocates noted this accounting trick briefly left recipients scrambling, as their cheques came later than usual. (By 2024, after public outcry, the government reverted to earlier payment dates to give recipients more time to pay bills.) This incident exemplifies how fiscal restraint was disguised as a benign scheduling change, until exposed by audits and advocacy.
Recent Increases and Ongoing Concerns: Under Premier Smith, the government moved to restore indexation. Starting Jan. 1, 2023, AISH and other benefits were re-indexed to inflation, yielding a 6% increase (e.g. from $1,685 to $1,787 per month for AISH). Smith cast this as a response to the affordability crisis. While this reversal was welcomed, it only partially catches up to the lost ground from the freeze. Notably, Budget 2025 actually projects a slight decrease in AISH program funding over the next few years (down $77 million over three years) despite growing caseloads. The government claims this will not reduce client incomes, pointing to federal help coming in 2025. In reality, Alberta indicated it will treat the new Canada Disability Benefit (up to $200/month) as “non-exempt income” for AISH. In other words, the province can claw back the federal benefit by deducting it from AISH payments, so that recipients “should not see a decrease to their overall monthly support” – but also no net increase. Critics view this as Alberta saving money at the expense of disabled individuals, whereas other provinces have signaled they will not claw back the federal benefit. In sum, the UCP did increase total AISH spending on paper and recently re-indexed payments, yet for several years benefits fell behind inflation and upcoming budget plans bank on federal dollars rather than provincial funds to maintain support.
The New ADAP Program: Expanded Opportunity or Offloading?
What is ADAP? In February 2025, the UCP announced the Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP), slated to launch in July 2026. Billed as a bold initiative, ADAP is meant to help Albertans with disabilities who can work keep more income without being penalized. Seniors, Community and Social Services Minister Jason Nixon stated “people with disabilities should not be punished for getting a job… Every dollar they earn… should be helping make them better off”, expressing excitement for ADAP’s potential positive impact. The government is investing $88.9 million in enhanced employment supports ahead of ADAP’s rollout, framing it as an empowerment program that will improve quality of life for persons with disabilities who are able to work.
Shifting People off AISH: Advocacy groups and the opposition, however, have raised serious concerns about ADAP’s true intent. ADAP will introduce a new assessment system to stream applicants (and even some current clients) either into AISH or into the new program. The fear is that many individuals currently on AISH – which is an assured income – will be reclassified under ADAP on the premise that they have some work capacity. Alberta’s Official Opposition warns the UCP “opened the door to changing the eligibility for AISH once ADAP is launched”, effectively removing some severely disabled people from AISH to reduce costs. NDP critic Marie Renaud called it “alarming” that the government can now “go through the list of 77,000 AISH recipients and decide which of those people should be working… and who doesn’t need to”. She argues the UCP is more interested in improving “the AISH program’s bottom line” than genuinely improving employment outcomes for people with disabilities
Rhetoric vs. Reality: The contrasting narratives around ADAP exemplify the UCP’s pattern of touting cuts as improvements. Government officials and even Alberta’s official Advocate for Persons with Disabilities have praised ADAP’s philosophy of employment inclusion. It’s true that under the current system, AISH clawbacks can discourage earning above certain thresholds (50% of income over ~$1,072/month is deducted, and dollar-for-dollar beyond ~$2,000). ADAP could allow greater earnings retention – a positive in principle. The concern is what base support ADAP will provide. If ADAP offers a lower guaranteed income than AISH, those forced off AISH could end up with less stable support unless they continually find work. The government insists “no one will lose support” and that AISH clients’ overall incomes won’t drop when ADAP arrives. But as Inclusion Alberta notes, with AISH caseloads and benefit levels rising (especially now that indexing is back), it’s unclear how the government will sustain benefits if many clients are moved to ADAP. The province has also “not yet stated a position” on whether ADAP/AISH clients will get to keep the full new Canada Disability Benefit or have it clawed back – a red flag to advocates. In short, ADAP could be a double-edged sword: it might encourage and reward employment for some, but it also appears designed to shift a segment of disabled Albertans off the higher-assured AISH program. Many fear ADAP’s launch will be accompanied by tightened eligibility and a reduced financial commitment framed in the language of empowerment.
Housing and Community Supports: Cuts Behind the Scenes
Budget Cuts to Housing Programs: Despite pledges to support vulnerable Albertans, the UCP significantly cut investments in affordable and supportive housing during its term. Capital funding for “family, social supports, and housing” plummeted each year under Kenney’s government. In 2019–20, Alberta spent $150 million on this category, but by 2021–22 the budget was nearly halved to $110 million. The downward trend continued: the target for 2022–23 was only $70 million, dropping to just $41 million by 2023–24. This represents an almost 75% reduction in housing and social support capital investment over four years, at a time when demand for accessible, affordable housing has grown. Even factoring in some mid-year adjustments, the province acknowledged spending would still be tens of millions less than previous years.
Impacts on People with Disabilities: These cuts have real consequences. Reduced capital spending means fewer new affordable housing units, delayed maintenance of existing units, and limited expansion of group homes or supportive living facilities for persons with disabilities. Waitlists for subsidized housing and supportive living grew as supply lagged. In 2021, the UCP government did release a 10-year affordable housing strategy (“Stronger Foundations”) and touted a $200 million increase in capital spending over three years. However, much of this strategy relies on privatization and partnerships, such as selling off public housing stock to non-profits or private entities. Critics argue the UCP approach is shifting the government away from directly providing housing, instead moving to a model of one-time capital grants and rent supplements that may not keep pace with needs. In practical terms, persons with disabilities in Alberta face longer waits for accessible housing and must compete for scarce units or vouchers.
Supportive Services and PDD: Outside of housing construction, Alberta funds disability-related community supports through programs like Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) and Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD). Here too, budget increases have been below the rate of inflation and population growth, leading to growing unmet need. Budget 2025 did boost PDD by ~5.9% and FSCD by ~3.6%, but Inclusion Alberta notes this falls short of the 7.3% needed just to keep up with inflation and population, let alone clear existing waitlists. Thousands of adults with intellectual disabilities who don’t meet the UCP’s narrow “critical needs” criteria remain on waitlists for PDD services. Similarly, families applying for FSCD are often waiting 3 years or more to receive crucial supports during their children’s formative years. Many finally approved are then offered supports that “are not ones they actually need,” according to surveys of nearly 200 families. These indicators suggest Alberta is lagging in providing adequate housing and community living supports, even as officials claim resources are being used “efficiently.” The downstream effect is that people with disabilities and their families are left without appropriate housing or must manage with insufficient support, undermining the UCP’s stated commitment to helping them live full lives in the community.
Education Supports: Funding Changes and “Gaslighting” Claims
Early Education (PUF) Cuts: One of the clearest examples of UCP spin vs. substance is in early education supports for children with disabilities. In February 2020, just before the pandemic, the Kenney government announced changes to Program Unit Funding (PUF) – grants that help preschool-aged children with developmental delays or disabilities get ready for school. The government claimed overall PUF funding would remain the same and that “eligibility for PUF has not changed and the cap does remain at $25,000” per child. In reality, the UCP drastically restructured PUF in ways that cut support for many children. The fine print showed that while a very small subset of children in full-day programs could still qualify for $25,000, most others saw sharp reductions. For example:
Children attending half-day programs (the majority of participants) had their maximum funding cut from $25,000 to $15,000.
Children with severe language delays were capped at $17,000 (full-day) or $10,000 (half-day), whereas previously up to $25,000 was available.
Those with moderate language delays became completely ineligible for PUF – a huge change from the previous criteria, which funded many kids with moderate delays or a mix of moderate/severe needs.
Despite the minister’s insistence that nothing had changed, these adjustments meant thousands of vulnerable young children lost out on early intervention services. The Edmonton Journal described the minister’s repeated denial of any eligibility change as “gaslighting parents.”
Many families and school authorities experienced these cuts as a sudden shortfall that eliminated or reduced programming for kids who had previously qualified for help. Specialists warned that without early supports, children with speech, motor, or cognitive delays “won’t magically catch up,” and Alberta would “pay more later” in costs associated with school failure or social problems.
K–12 Inclusive Education: In the K–12 system, the UCP also revised the funding formula in 2020. Categorical grants were merged, and although the government said funding for special needs would be protected, school boards reported strains in delivering inclusive education. Class size funding was cut, and overall education budgets saw reductions in real terms, making it harder to hire educational assistants or provide individualized supports. By 2023, the government did inject some new money into “Specialized Learning Supports” (a 5.2% increase in Budget 2025). However, Inclusion Alberta notes it’s unclear if this will meaningfully improve classroom inclusion, since it depends how school divisions allocate those dollars. Alberta’s educational outcomes for students with disabilities have been mixed during the UCP term: some parents report their children are now getting less therapy and aide time than a few years ago due to the earlier cuts, even though needs have increased.
In summary, the UCP’s approach to education supports for disabilities has often been to claim enhancements while quietly tightening eligibility or funding criteria. The PUF overhaul is a prime example: officials maintained a positive messaging (“shifting dollars around” to better target severe needs), but behind that, supports were substantially scaled back for many. The result has been a regression in early childhood intervention capacity and ongoing challenges in inclusive education, contradicting the government’s assertions that no child would be left unsupported.
Accessibility and Inclusion Legislation: Alberta Lags Behind
Alberta remains one of the last provinces in Canada without dedicated accessibility legislation. Unlike Ontario (with its Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act), Manitoba, Nova Scotia, British Columbia and others that have passed laws setting standards to remove barriers, Alberta has yet to enact a comprehensive Accessibility Act. Disability advocates have been calling for such legislation for years, emphasizing that a framework is needed to systematically address barriers in buildings, transportation, employment, and services. In November 2023, advocacy groups noted Alberta is “really far behind” other jurisdictions – in fact, “one of the last two provinces” without provincial accessibility standards. Everyday tasks like entering restaurants, accessing public transit, or finding accessible housing can be daunting in Alberta because many accessibility features are voluntary or subject to minimal building code rules.
Government Response: The UCP government’s response has been slow and largely limited to promises. Ministers have stated they are “committed to working with the disability community” to ensure appropriate supports and to “modernize” programs. In practice, the government did update some building code guidelines and launched an Accessibility Advisory Panel, but this fell short of creating enforceable standards across sectors. In early 2022, the opposition (Alberta NDP) even introduced a proposed accessibility and inclusion bill, but it did not progress – highlighting that initiative on this file has not come from the governing party. As of 2025, Alberta still lacks an Accessibility Act, and advocates worry the province is missing a critical tool to proactively remove barriers. The UCP’s focus has been on individual programs (like ADAP or PDD) rather than broad rights-based legislation. This piecemeal approach means Alberta risks falling further behind as other provinces implement comprehensive strategies to achieve a “barrier-free” Canada by 2040 (in line with the federal Accessible Canada Act). The absence of provincial legislation may also undermine Alberta’s credibility in claiming leadership on disability issues, since genuine inclusion requires not just funding programs but also ensuring equal access through law.
Cuts to Advocacy and Oversight Organizations
Another pattern observed is the UCP’s reduction of support for independent advocacy groups for the disability community. In 2023, several longstanding disability organizations had their provincial grants cut or eliminated. For example, Inclusion Alberta – a respected non-profit that for decades partnered with government to support families of people with intellectual disabilities – was abruptly informed that over $500,000 of its funding would be cut halfway through a contract. This funding had been used for peer support networks and helping families navigate services, which CEO Trish Bowman describes as “really direct supports” that enable individuals to live richer lives in the community. The government justified the cut by saying it only wants to fund “direct front-line services” and no longer those that “don’t provide direct services”. Bowman warned this will have a “long-term impact” on the supports they can provide.
Simultaneously, three other small advocacy groups – the Edmonton Self Advocacy Federation, Calgary’s Disability Action Hall, and the Southern Alberta Individualized Planning Association – were told their modest three-year grants (about $425,000 per year combined) would be terminated a year early. These groups facilitate self-advocacy and leadership by persons with disabilities. The UCP’s rationale again was that these are not front-line service providers. However, advocates argue that “adjacent supports” like advocacy, navigation, and peer mentorship are crucial in a system where people face long waitlists and bureaucratic hurdles. As NDP critic Marie Renaud observed, the government appears to be “systematically eliminating” the very supports that help people cope while waiting for services. It’s seen as a short-sighted move – “cut off your nose to spite your face” – because removing these supports could leave people more isolated and less able to access the government programs that do exist.
These cuts send a chilling message to the disability community. They reduce independent oversight and critical feedback, since organizations like Inclusion Alberta often speak up about system gaps or propose improvements. Indeed, on the heels of the funding cuts, Inclusion Alberta released reports highlighting systemic issues (years-long waits, families getting insufficient support) in PDD and FSCD. The timing led many to suspect the UCP is uncomfortable with advocacy groups shining a light on problems, preferring to fund only direct service delivery that comes without public criticism. Alberta does have an internal Office of the Advocate for Persons with Disabilities, but that office (currently led by the government-appointed advocate, who supported the ADAP announcement) does not replace the grassroots advocacy voices being defunded. In effect, the UCP has narrowed the public dialogue on disability policy by weakening the organizations that can hold it accountable. This raises concerns that future policy changes affecting disabled Albertans may receive less pushback – until the damage is felt by individuals themselves.
National Comparison: Is Alberta Leading or Lagging?
When comparing Alberta’s approach to disability support with other provinces, a complex picture emerges. Alberta historically had one of the more generous disability income programs in Canada, and even after recent stumbles, it maintains a relatively high basic benefit. For instance, Alberta’s AISH (now $1,787/month for a single person at maximum) outstrips the approximately $1,358 under Ontario’s Disability Support Program (after a 2022 increase) or the ~$1,450 provided in British Columbia (as of 2023). Alberta also has a higher asset limit for clients (allowing savings up to $100,000, versus just $5,000 in Ontario’s case historically). These factors suggest Alberta leads in some financial aspects of disability support. Indeed, Kenney’s government often pointed out Alberta’s AISH was the costliest per capita program of its kind in Canada, framing any restraint as bringing Alberta in line with others.
However, Alberta’s lead has been shrinking. Other provinces have moved to increase and index benefits in recent years (e.g. Ontario and Manitoba introduced indexing, B.C. made multiple rate hikes and now indexes annually). Alberta’s 3-year indexation freeze meant persons with disabilities here actually lost purchasing power while counterparts in, say, B.C. saw their support modestly rise. In terms of policy innovation and rights, Alberta lags: most provinces have either passed or are developing accessibility laws, whereas Alberta has not (making it, alongside perhaps New Brunswick, an outlier). Alberta’s approach under the UCP – emphasizing cost control, shifting responsibility to federal programs (like relying on the forthcoming Canada Disability Benefit to fund what Alberta then claws back), and pushing individuals toward employment – contrasts with some provinces that have taken a more holistic, no-clawback approach. For example, Newfoundland has pledged not to reduce provincial disability benefits when the federal disability benefit kicks in, to ensure it truly lifts incomes. Alberta so far has not made such a promise, and indications are it will absorb that benefit into its calculations.
On education and children’s supports, Alberta’s cutbacks to early intervention (PUF) and the resulting service gaps put it behind provinces like Ontario, which during the same period expanded some early autism interventions (albeit with their own challenges), or B.C., which did not make comparable cuts to early childhood special education funding. On housing, Alberta’s per-capita spending on affordable housing is low for a province with its wealth, and the pivot to privatization is seen as bucking the trend of public investment that other large provinces (e.g. Quebec and B.C. have recently poured significant funds into social housing) are following.
Alberta is not leading Canada in disability support innovation – if anything, it has been navigating by austerity and creative reframing. The UCP’s strategies often present Alberta as doing more (“highest AISH budget ever,” new programs like ADAP) while the underlying numbers and policies tell a more restrained story. Other provinces may spend less per recipient in some cases, but they are increasingly forthright in addressing disability poverty (through indexing, supplements, or non-clawback policies) and accessibility rights. Alberta under the UCP has risked its earlier reputation for relatively strong disability supports by focusing on budget savings and by relying on rhetoric to paper over service erosion.
Conclusion
Over the past few years, the Alberta UCP governments made numerous promises to persons with disabilities – to protect AISH, to enhance employment opportunities, to maintain services – and indeed took some actions consistent with those promises. Yet a detailed review reveals significant discrepancies between the UCP’s rhetoric and the outcomes. Real-dollar cuts were implemented through inflation freezes and behind-the-scenes policy tweaks, even as ministers claimed benefits were untouched. New initiatives like ADAP and affordability payments came packaged in positive language, but carry the potential (and perhaps intent) to reduce the government’s long-term financial commitment by shifting people to other programs or income sources. Independent assessments by media, advocacy groups, and the Auditor General repeatedly found instances of “positive” changes that concealed negative impacts – from PUF funding reallocation that was essentially a cut, to AISH payment date changes that were an accounting tactic, to budget “increases” that actually fell below need and fuelled growing waitlists.
The consequences for Albertans with disabilities have been tangible. Many have seen their monthly incomes stagnate against rising costs, struggled to find accessible housing or timely services, and felt less supported in school or community life. The UCP’s track record suggests that Alberta’s disability community has been asked to do more with less, all while hearing messaging that things have never been better. Looking ahead, the launch of ADAP and the implementation of the federal disability benefit will be key tests. Will Alberta ensure these genuinely improve quality of life, or use them to further offload provincial responsibility? Transparency and input from the disability community will be crucial. As it stands, the UCP’s legacy on disability support is one of mixed signals: public optimism and commitments on one hand, versus cost-cutting measures and unmet needs on the other. This dissonance has left many advocates skeptical and determined to keep a close watch, lest financial expediency continue to be portrayed as benevolence at the expense of those who can least afford it.
Sources: Alberta government budget documents and audits; reporting by Global News, CBC, CTV, CityNews, Edmonton Journal; analyses by Inclusion Alberta and other advocacy organizations
