Website Accessibility in Canada

Why Accessibility Matters

According to Statistics Canada, approximately 22% of Canadians aged 15 and over — about 6.2 million people — have one or more disabilities. These include visual, hearing, mobility, cognitive, and mental health disabilities that can affect how people use websites.

An inaccessible website doesn't just exclude these users — it sends a message that your organization doesn't consider them. For non-profits, government organizations, healthcare providers, and any business serving the general public, this is both an ethical failure and a practical one.

Beyond the moral case, accessibility has practical benefits for all users:

• Captions benefit users in noisy environments, not just deaf users
• High contrast benefits users in bright sunlight, not just low-vision users
• Keyboard navigation benefits power users, not just users who can't use a mouse
• Clear, simple language benefits non-native speakers and users with cognitive disabilities alike
• Accessible websites tend to have better SEO — search engines and screen readers have similar needs

Understanding WCAG 2.1 AA

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and are the internationally recognized standard for web accessibility. WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the target standard referenced in most Canadian legislation.

WCAG is organized around four principles, often called POUR:

Perceivable — Information must be presentable in ways users can perceive:

• Text alternatives for non-text content (images, icons, charts)
• Captions for video and audio content
• Content that can be presented in different ways without losing meaning
• Sufficient colour contrast (4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text)
• Text that can be resized up to 200% without loss of content

Operable — Interface components must be operable:

• All functionality available via keyboard (not just mouse)
• No content that flashes more than 3 times per second
• Skip navigation links to bypass repetitive content
• Descriptive page titles and link text
• Sufficient time to read and use content

Understandable — Information and UI must be understandable:

• Language of page identified in HTML (lang attribute)
• Consistent navigation across pages
• Error identification and suggestions in forms
• Labels for all form inputs

Robust — Content must be robust enough for assistive technologies:

• Valid, well-structured HTML
• ARIA roles and attributes used correctly
• Name, role, and value available for all UI components

AODA: Ontario's Accessibility Law

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) is Ontario's provincial accessibility legislation. It applies to all organizations in Ontario — public sector, private sector, and non-profit — with specific requirements based on organization size.

Who must comply:

• All Ontario public-sector organizations (government, hospitals, schools, universities)
• Private-sector and non-profit organizations with 50 or more employees
• Smaller organizations have fewer requirements but are still encouraged to comply

Website requirements under AODA:

• New websites and significantly refreshed websites must meet WCAG 2.0 Level AA
• Compliance deadlines for large organizations passed in 2021
• Organizations must file accessibility compliance reports

The Accessible Canada Act

The Accessible Canada Act (ACA), passed in 2019, is federal legislation that applies to federally regulated organizations. This includes federal government departments and agencies, Crown corporations, banks, telecommunications companies, broadcasters, and interprovincial transportation companies.

The ACA requires these organizations to identify, remove, and prevent barriers to accessibility across seven priority areas, including information and communication technology (which includes websites).

The ACA is administered by Accessibility Standards Canada, which develops accessibility standards that can be incorporated into federal regulations.

Practical Accessibility Requirements

Here are the most impactful accessibility requirements for most Canadian websites:

Images and icons: Every meaningful image needs an alt attribute describing its content. Decorative images should have an empty alt="" so screen readers skip them.

Colour contrast: Text must have sufficient contrast against its background. The minimum ratio is 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text (18pt or 14pt bold). Use a contrast checker tool to verify.

Form labels: Every form input needs a visible, associated label. Placeholder text alone is not sufficient — it disappears when users start typing.

Keyboard navigation: All interactive elements (links, buttons, form fields) must be reachable and operable via keyboard. Focus indicators must be visible.

Skip links: A "Skip to main content" link at the top of each page allows keyboard and screen reader users to bypass repetitive navigation.

Page titles: Each page needs a unique, descriptive <title> element that identifies both the page and the site.

Heading structure: Use headings (h1—h6) in logical order to create a navigable document structure. Don't skip heading levels.

Language declaration: The lang attribute on the <html> element tells screen readers which language to use. For bilingual pages, update it dynamically when the language switches.

How We Build Accessible Websites

Accessibility is built into our development process from the start — not added as an afterthought. Every website we build includes:

We also offer accessibility reviews for existing websites — identifying issues and providing a prioritized remediation plan. See our Accessible Website Checklist for a self-assessment tool.

Frequently Asked Questions