Premier Danielle Smith continues to defend her government's controversial plan to overhaul disability supports as changes are announced following feedback from the Alberta public.--CP FILE PHOTO
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The Alberta government released more information this week about changes to the province’s disability benefit framework.
In a news release Monday, the Ministry of Assisted Living and Social Services shared more details on the Alberta Disability Assistance Program, a new disability income assistance program introduced in February 2025 to augment the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped Program.
“What we are doing is to allow those who cannot work, at all, to continue receiving the same amount,” said Premier Danielle Smith in response to a question on her radio show Saturday.
Smith says disability benefits in the province are now comprised of three programs.
“We’ve maintained AISH for those who are severely handicapped and cannot work; we’ve got a medical-only type of approach, so that if you do have severe disabilities related to medical needs, you’re going to be supported there. But then ADAP is a sliding scale, so the more you work, the lower your benefit, but the less you work, the higher your benefit.
The province had previously capped the income exemption at $350 per month for single clients on ADAP. That threshold has been increased to $700, doubling the maximum income an individual can earn before benefits begin to be clawed back.
ADAP recipients lose the last of their financial benefits if annual income reaches $45,000.
Disability advocacy groups have been critical of the new program. ADAP has a lower maximum benefit than AISH, at $1,740 compared to $1,940. As well, even with the doubled amount for ADAP, the current income exemption for individuals receiving AISH is still higher, at $1,072 per month.
The release also outlined criteria under which individuals currently receiving AISH could be exempt from the upcoming July mandatory transfer to ADAP.
In earlier statements, the province said all AISH recipients would automatically be transferred to ADAP and that a medical assessment would be required for possible re-evaluation back to AISH. AISH recipients have already undergone a medical assessment in order to receive past current benefits.
With the new changes, individuals with a severe and profound developmental disability, including those deemed eligible for Persons with Developmental Disabilities services, will not be required to reapply for AISH. Anyone with a palliative or terminal medical condition, those living in continuing care homes and people over 60 will also be allowed to remain on AISH.
The ministry said these decisions were made on the basis of feedback from Albertans.
Despite those changes, Phillip Ney, director of public engagement and community affairs at Inclusion Alberta, says fundamental problems with the ADAP program remain.
“Some people will hear this as good news. But there’s a really big problem here, and that’s that Bill 12 redefined eligibility for AISH, and it defined it as a severe disability that makes somebody permanently unemployable.”
Ney says Inclusion Alberta has helped place 1,600 people with intellectual disabilities in jobs with inclusive employers. He says the new policy may discourage Albertans with severe disabilities from doing the work they can, undermining what the province says is the spirit of the legislation.
“The problem here is that people with disabilities are having to choose between a benefit cut and scraping by in the job market, or else having their benefits maintained, but giving up on on the possibility of employment,” said Ney.
The remainder of individuals on AISH will be transferred to ADAP on July 1. The Alberta government says it will cover the cost of one medical assessment for current AISH clients who choose to be reassessed. There is no time limit on this support.
The most recent available statistics, dating from September, show 79,290 individuals accessing AISH support.
Of those, 2,423 are residing in continuing-care facilities and 13,603 are over 60. According to the 2024-25 Seniors, Community and Social Services annual report, 13,641 people were receiving PDD services.
That leaves nearly 50,000 Albertans who could still be eligible for automatic transfer to ADAP, although that doesn’t include any individuals with palliative or terminal medical conditions not residing in continuing care facilities, or those with severe developmental disabilities not eligible for PDD.
According to budget documents, the cost of program planning and delivery for disability income assistance has nearly doubled from $46.8 million in 2025-26 to $88.4 million in 2026-27, in line with the rollout of the second disability program.
Budget 2026 is projecting a deficit of $9.4 billion, more than double the last fiscal year.
The municipalities of Edmonton, Lethbridge and Claresholm have passed motions calling on the Government of Alberta to pause the implementation of ADAP pending further consultation.
Detailed calculations for ADAP employment income exemptions have not yet been released. The ministry says it send out in a ministerial order this spring.
Detailed criteria on what determines eligibility for AISH as opposed to ADAP is also not yet available.
