Disability affects a large and growing share of the population. In 2022, more than one in five people aged 15 and over in Quebec, some 1.4 million people, were living with at least one disability. Among them, approximately half a million were living with a severe or very severe disability. This reality affects all generations and, since 2017, has become increasingly prevalent among adolescents and young adults.
A diversity of situations
Disability takes multiple forms: motor, sensory (vision, hearing), intellectual, mental health related, chronic pain related, or a combination of these. Some are visible, others less so. This diversity complicates life trajectories and explains why needs are often poorly understood and inadequately addressed by public policies.
What exactly is a “disability”?
Disability is more than an individual condition. It is the result of an interaction between functional limitations and social, environmental, or organizational obstacles (Ex aequo). 1 In other words, certain barriers in society can transform a limitation into a disability.
Very real inequality
Despite this diversity, Canadian data on the subject send a clear message: people with disabilities are proportionately more likely to live alone, lack a high school diploma, be out of the labour market, and be below the low-income cut-off. These gaps widen when the disability is more severe: median income falls by roughly a third compared to the median income of people without a disability, and the risk of living in poverty doubles.
Accumulated obstacles
Living conditions remain fragile and are often marked by an accumulation of difficulties:
- Food insecurity;
- Difficulty accessing adapted housing, especially in times of crisis;
- Significant limitations to employment;
- Social isolation, particularly among people living alone.
These realities also have repercussions on mental health. People with disabilities are less likely to perceive their mental health as good or excellent than people without disabilities.
🎓 Education and Inequality
Students with disabilities are much less likely to obtain a high school diploma. The lack of a diploma is generally associated with a lower income, less favourable living conditions, and a higher risk of becoming locked in a cycle of poverty. All the more reason to better understand the obstacles that lie in their path.
Universal accessibility: an unfinished project
In Greater Montreal, many aspects of daily life remain difficult:
- Mobility: only about a third of metro stations are accessible. Adapted transport, essential for many, imposes constraints that limit autonomy.
- Housing: finding truly accessible housing is a major obstacle, particularly in periods when housing is hard to come by.
- Public spaces and businesses: entering a store, enjoying a terrace, or attending a cultural event is not always a given.
- Citizen participation: when energy is spent overcoming day-to-day barriers, engaging socially becomes an added challenge.
♿ Environments accessible to everyone
Universal accessibility, i.e., environments and services that can be used by anyone, is an essential condition for equality. This approach aims to eliminate obstacles at the source, for the benefit not only of people with disabilities, but other groups, such as parents with strollers, seniors, immigrants, and those with low literacy.
The role of community agencies
Centraide of Greater Montreal supports agencies that work with people with disabilities and their support networks. These agencies work on two levels: offering essential basic services and taking collective action to defend rights.
They help people with procedures, break isolation, support families, and facilitate access to leisure and civic life, all while acting to change practices and public policies. In many cases, they are the only resources available to certain groups.
Toward real and lasting inclusion
People with disabilities do not form a homogenous group. Their realities, needs, and trajectories are very different. The disability may be visible or invisible, permanent or changing, physical, sensory, intellectual, or mental health related. It may affect children, adults, and the elderly, women, men, immigrants, and Indigenous peoples.
People with disabilities do not live on the margins of society. They study, work, raise children, get involved in their communities, and contribute to community life. They are present in all families, all neighbourhoods, and all living environments. Disability does not concern an isolated minority: it embraces the whole of society.
Building a Greater Montreal that is truly inclusive is about making clear choices: investing in universal accessibility, supporting community agencies, and guaranteeing full and complete participation in social life for all.
Sources:
- Ex aequo, Pour un Plan d’urbanisme et de mobilité réellement inclusif, brief presented to the OCPM, 2022.
- Other data drawn from Government of Quebec, Statistiques sur les personnes handicapées, data drawn from the Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD), 2022, Statistics Canada.
https://www.quebec.ca/nouvelles/actualites/details/donnees-recentes-personnes-incapacite-quebec
1 out of 5 people receives our help.
5 out of 5 people benefit from it.
Let’s all lend a hand
Supporting a network of over 375 community agencies also means promoting an inclusive, poverty-free society.