Power. Dignity. Solidarity.
Building a united disability movement across Canada
It is way past time for disabled people and caregivers to take part in government, policy making, and planning, on all levels.
BY THE NUMBERS (CANADA)
| Total Population (mid-2025 estimate): Approximately 40.1 million source | People with Disabilities (aged 15+): Approximately 8.0 million, representing 27% of that age group source | Unpaid Caregivers (aged 15+): Approximately 13.4 million, or 42%, provided care in the past year to children and/or adults with long-term conditions or disabilities source |
| Sandwich Caregivers: Approximately 1.8 million individuals are “Sandwich Caregivers” providing care for both children and adults. | TOGETHER, WE ARE A VOTING POWERHOUSE. OVER 8 MILLION CANADIANS WITH DISABILITIES AND MORE THAN 13 MILLION UNPAID CAREGIVERS MAKE UP 21 MILLION PEOPLE. IN THE LAST ELECTION, ONLY 20 MILLION VOTES WERE CAST. (source) IF EVEN A FRACTION OF US VOTE TOGETHER, WE CAN DETERMINE THE OUTCOME. | |
WHY ORGANIZE?
Right now, the disability community is separated into dozens of small “special interest” groups. Each one is fighting for a slice of the pie—funding, recognition, resources. The result? We stay divided, while the system stays the same.
Most services come from organizations with good intentions, but their hands are tied. Funding is limited, rules are rigid, and advocacy often stops short of real change. Instead of one strong voice, we’re scattered into whispers that get drowned out.
Organizing means pulling together—not as separate diagnoses or service categories, but as one powerful community. Together, people with disabilities, families, and caregivers can stop competing with each other for scraps and start demanding the full rights, respect, and resources we all deserve.
WHAT WE AGREE ON
We don’t need to agree on politics, religion, or how to load a dishwasher.
What matters is agreeing on a few undeniable facts:
Disability is part of the human experience — it touches every community, every family.
Accessibility helps everyone — a ramp built for one group benefits all people with disabilities, and society as a whole.
Quality of life is a right, not a reward — whether a person with a disability can work or not, they still deserve dignity, security, and a good life.
Work must be accessible by law, not luck — like in Japan, where employers are legally required to hire people with disabilities, access to employment shouldn’t depend on goodwill.
Freedom of movement is a Charter right — but many people with disabilities can’t actually exercise it.
The Charter also guarantees the right to work — yet caregivers are effectively shut out from that right, forced to choose between income and providing essential support.
Caregiving is essential work — unpaid or paid, it keeps the country running.
The system is broken — and fixing it requires our collective voice.
We can debate everything else. But these truths are the ground we stand on together.
Our Rules
- This is a political movement, not a charity.
We exist to build power, not to hand out scraps. - Membership is open to people with disabilities and unpaid caregivers.
Each member has one equal vote. - Leadership comes from us.
The board must be made up of people with disabilities and caregivers. - We fund ourselves.
We do not accept money that restricts our ability to act. - Where the money goes is decided by members.
Salaries for PWD and caregivers working for the movement will be set at the AGM. - We are transparent.
A yearly independent audit of finances will be presented to all members. - We act politically.
Our funds support campaigns, political actions, and candidates who share our vision — including our own candidates. - We stand on shared truths.
Accessibility benefits everyone. Disability is part of the human experience. Quality of life is a right. The Charter rights to movement and work must apply to us all.