Alberta NDP renews calls to end planned changes to disability income support program

The Opposition NDP is continuing to call on the Alberta government to halt changes to the province’s long-running disability assistance program, exactly one month before the modifications are set to take effect.

A planned transition from the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) program to the Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP) – for most current recipients – is scheduled for July 1.

The Alberta NDP, longtime opponents of the transition, is continuing to urge the UCP to reverse course.

“There is still time for this UCP government to do the right thing,” said Marie Renaud, the Alberta NDP shadow minister for community and social services, at a press conference Monday. “We’ve said this before, and I will say it again: this is dangerous, cruel and unnecessary.”

Nearly 80,000 Albertans currently receiving AISH will be moved to ADAP next month. Under the new system, Albertans deemed capable of working will receive lower monthly payments. According to the program guide, the maximum allowance for recipients will be $200 less than the amount available through AISH.

“This is a cost-saving exercise,” Renaud said. “This is blowing up AISH.”

“We’re seeing the real impact already,” she added. “People are reaching out because they’re terrified and angry. They don’t know how they’re going to make ends meet. People with disabilities deserve stability, dignity, and respect – not uncertainty and fear.”

Those determined by the province to be unable to work will remain on AISH.

‘Thoughtfully designed’

The UCP government says the goal is to encourage and support greater workforce participation.

“Offered in addition to the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) program, ADAP expands disability income assistance to thousands of Albertans who need support but who may not have been eligible under the previous one-size-fits-all approach,” said Amber Edgerton, press secretary for Assisted Living and Social Services Minister Jason Nixon.

“ADAP was thoughtfully designed, based on the input of Albertans with disabilities, to empower Albertans with disabilities to pursue meaningful employment while continuing to receive the financial, health and personal supports they need. ADAP’s core benefit rate is among the highest in the country, providing $300 more per month than most disability programs in Canada.”

The province argues ADAP will allow for the highest level of employment income in Canada while Albertans continue to receive benefits. Statistics Canada data from 2025 show Alberta has the highest employment rate for people with disabilities in the country, at just over 50 per cent.

Currently, AISH recipients can work but their income is deducted from their monthly living allowance.

“These financial benefits are in addition to health and personal benefits, which, unlike AISH, Albertans on ADAP will receive regardless of their employment income,” Edgerton told CityNews.

“Additionally, Albertans on ADAP will receive customized, one-on-one support and access to the resources they need to gain new skills and work to their full potential. Budget 2026 invests an unprecedented nearly quarter-billion dollars to help Albertans gain and retain meaningful employment. This investment strengthens supports that reduce barriers for Albertans with disabilities, providing services such as career planning, assistive technology and supported job placements, as well as resources to help employers break down accessibility barriers in their workplaces.”

‘Significant stress and anxiety and fear’

Disability advocate Darryl Learie has been on AISH for nearly 20 years. He has anxiety, depression, autism and ADHD – conditions he says are detrimental to being part of the workforce.

Learie, whose wife is also on AISH, laments the financial impact for couples on income support under the new program.

“Together that would cost my wife and I $466, which could force us to forgo prior financial commitments, possibly face bankruptcy, leave us with no choice but to move in with family because of rising rent cost.

“The introduction of ADAP has caused daily significant stress and anxiety and fear within a disabled community that already struggles.”

Learie launched a petition to stop the planned transition, saying so far nearly 6,000 people have signed. “I’m asking the government to do the right thing,” he said.

City councils in Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge, Red Deer and several other municipalities have passed motions asking the government to put the changes on hold.

“All of the things that the UCP government have been saying about ADAP and what they’re doing, it is a lie,” Renaud said. “They’re lying. They have been lying to Albertans. They have been gaslighting people with disabilities for over a year now.”

–With files from Jillian Code in Calgary