[1][2] Despite significant gains for people with disabilities in recent decades, there is historical and modern discrimination issues.

[3] From the late 1800s to the mid 20th century, Canadian immigration laws prohibited people who were perceived to have intellectual or developmental disabilities from entering the country.

[4] People with disabilities within Canada have faced institutionalization, involuntary sterilization, employment denialism and emotional and physical violence.

The increase is attributed to an aging population and a notable rise in mental health-related disabilities among younger and working-age adults.

Certain demographic groups, such as recent immigrants and Indigenous peoples, face higher risks of low income, similar to persons with disabilities.

[14] Largely having to do with the widespread trust of medical authority and the growth of industrialization, Canadian society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries fostered the segregation of persons with disabilities.

These laws first targeted individuals lacking family support to avoid dependency on state aid.

[16] Canadian eugenics beliefs and practices operated via institutionalization and medical judgements, similar to other nations at the time, with thousands sterilized during the 1930s to 1970s, when people with disabilities were seen as "defective" and not fit to reproduce.

David King, the MLA who had tabled the bill for the repeal of the Act, stated that he saw the legislation as being in violation of human rights.

Not-for-profit organizations such as the Canadian Association for Community Living (formed in 1958, then called the Canadian Association for Retarded Children) opened group homes for persons with disabilities and advocated that money saved by closing government institutions could be used for the expansion of community services.

[20] In addition, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, enacted in 1982,[20] guarantees that persons with disabilities are protected by and will receive the same benefits under the law as any other Canadian.

[12] Canada's provincial disability programs do not provide sufficient income to recipients that fully depend on government support to enable them to afford typical food and housing costs of $341 per month[24] and $1529/month for a studio apartment[25][26] respectively.

In Ontario and British Columbia, disability support program payments max out at $1308 and $1483.50 per month, respectively, for an individual.

[27] The government has adopted a wide array of programs designed to make life more affordable for people with disabilities.

[22] In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government enhanced these programs with increased funding, including reinstating the Canada Revenue Agency's Disability Advisory Committee.

[28] Other financial programs for Canadians with disabilities currently offered by Employment and Social Development Canada include:[29] The Canadian Human Rights Commission maintains a policy on "environmental sensitivity" (a recognized disability) which gives affected employees the right to request that their employer ensures workplaces are free from egregious chemicals or smells.

[32] After World War I, many veterans returned to Canada with physical and mental disabilities and had difficulty re-integrating into society.

[15] The end of the 1970s marked the establishment of the Coalition of Provincial Organizations of the Handicapped (now the Council for Canadians with Disabilities [CCD]), a prominent advocacy group.

The following year the Charter of Rights and Freedoms was amended to include disability as a basis for discrimination,[20] a cause strongly advocated by stakeholder groups such as the CCD.

In 1991, under the Mulroney government, a five-year strategic action plan was announced for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities.

In 1996 Prime Minister Jean Chrétien appointed a Federal Task Force on Disability Issues.

[15] In signing the convention, Canada committed to attempting to improve the social and economic condition of Canadians with disabilities, and in 2014 it submitted a report to the UN detailing its progress.