Province outlines disability supports, with largest chunk of new money going to launching ADAP
By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on March 17, 2026.
newsdesk@medicinehatnews.com The provincial government outlined the spending scheduled for disability supports in Budget 2026 in a release Monday. The budget features a total investment of $3.7 billion across a range of programs and grants designed to support Albertans with disabilities. The budget represents a year-over-year increase of just under $100 million. “Budget 2026 makes a historic $3.7-billion investment into supports for Albertans with disabilities. Because giving all Albertans the support they need to chase their dreams and help build a better future for our province – that’s the real Alberta Advantage,” said Minister of Assisted Living and Social Services Jason Nixon in a statement. Programs receiving funding increases include the Persons with Developmental Disabilities and Family Support for Children with Disabilities programs. The largest increase is proposed for PDD supports, which are scheduled to receive a boost of $78 million. FSCD is receiving a smaller increase, with about $4.4 million in new funding. Provincial disability supports initiatives and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder initiatives will operate with the same budget as 2025. The total budgeted for disability income supports has actually declined slightly from Budget 2025, decreasing by about $5 million. The budget also includes nearly $48 million to support service delivery networks designed to help Albertans with disabilities access supports across the province. Budget 2026 outlines an allocation of $1.7 billion for disability income assistance through Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped and the Alberta disability Assistance Program launching in July. The line item receiving the largest increase in Budget 2026 is program planning and delivery for income assistance programs, which is more than doubling as the province prepares to roll out ADAP. This increase accounts for more than 40 per cent of the total $100 million increase to disability supports spending in the new budget. 13-12
This is another pre-election style gimmick by the UCP and Danielle Smith to try and make it look like they care about the most vulnerable, when they really don’t. The UCP and Danielle Smith do not care one iota about those on AISH.
The UCP de-indexed AISH to the rate of inflation, which is one type of cut. As prices go up, the purchasing ability for those on AISH is reduced. Alberta has had the highest rate of inflation in Canada, or close to it for many years. Without any notice, the UCP changed the payment dates for AISH from 4 banking days before the first day of the next month, to the first day of the next month. This was another cut, and many on AISH couldn’t pay their rent or their bills on time, and defaulted on those things. After a huge outcry, the UCP resorted to the original payment dates for AISH, but this happened much later on. The UCP cut off different supplemental benefits for those on AISH. The $49 million the UCP lost from the $80 million the UCP blew on Turkish Tylenol, is what they cut off of AISH. The UCP were the only government in Canada, amongst the provincial and territorial governments to claw back the federal Liberal’s $200 per month disability payment supplement.
ADAP is another backwards and cruel ploy to get people off AISH. On her own phone in radio talk show, very recently, Danielle Smith admitted to a caller that the goal of her and the UCP is to get people off of AISH and have them working.
https://x.com/TheBreakdownAB/status/2030773909579325671?s=20
The UCP have the most generous supports program in Canada. For corporate welfare, very costly debacles, and their rich friends. Well over $7 billion on a pipeline bet gone bad, including the still missing billions of dollars on loan guarantees, around $15 billion lost from corporate tax cuts, which didn’t produce a single new hire, $1.3 billion on a new hockey arena for Calgary, which Danielle Smith originally opposed, when she was the Wildrose Party leader, and as a radio talk show host, because she said it didn’t make any economic sense, $20 billion for the R-Star debacle, $11 billion on loan guarantees, has to pay $16 billion to coal mining companies for breaking contract agreements, and only paid for a small fraction of the settlements, blew $900 million on the petrochemical (bitumen industry), cost Albertans well over $150 billion, since June of 2020, with their economic withholding, power price gouging debacle, and many many more.