Population aged 15 years and over rating their own health as bad or very bad, 2021: 2.8%
Estimated prevalence of dementia per 1,000 population, 2021: 15.2
Estimated prevalence of dementia per 1,000 population, 2040: 22.9
Source: OECD (2023), Health at a Glance 2023: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, doi.org/10.1787/7a7afb35-en.
“Individuals with disabilities contribute to a significant portion of the Canadian population. Based on information from the Canadian Survey on Disability of 2017, 22% of the Canadian population aged 15 years and over (about 6.2 million) have one or more disabilities, and nearly 5.1% (or 315,500) of Canadians in that age group reported that they have developmental disabilities (Morris et al., 2018). Families play a crucial role in supporting adults with developmental disabilities across the world, including Canada (Chadwick et al., 2013; Navas et al., 2021). It is estimated that 7.8 million Canadians aged 15 and older are involved in providing care to their family members for various reasons, such as long-term health conditions, a physical or mental disability, or problems related to aging. Of the 7.8 million caregivers, 8% (over 600,000) provided care to their child with a long-term health condition or a physical or mental disability (Statistics Canada, 2020).”
Source: Nuri RP, Piccone C, Gaurav N, et al. The Limits and Contributions of Formal Support: Service Providers’ Perspectives on Balancing Formal and Natural Support for People with Disabilities and their Families in Canada. J Dev Phys Disabil. 2025;37(1):129-156. doi:10.1007/s10882-023-09944-2
“When looking at the overall population of persons with disabilities aged 15 years and older, there were variations in the age of onset and limitation for different types of disabilities. Overall, age of onset of physical disabilities (flexibility, dexterity, and mobility) occurred in a person’s 50s; pain-related, hearing, and memory disabilities occurred in their 40s; seeing disabilities occurred in their 30s; and learning and mental health-related disabilities occurred in their 20s (Table 1).
“For most disability types, the mean and median age of onset was approximately the same. The exception was learning disabilities, where the difference between mean and median was quite pronounced (13 years) and to a lesser degree mental health-related disabilities (6 years). This difference is likely a function of the high concentration of these disability types among younger age groups.”
Source: Morris, Stuart and McDiarmid, Carrly. (2021). “Age of Disability: From Onset to Limitation.” Canadian Survey on Disability Reports. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 89-654-X2021003.
“The age of limitation results showed a slightly different pattern than age of onset. While limitation due to physical disabilities still occurred in one’s 50s, hearing disabilities moved from onset in one’s late 40s to limitation in their 50s. Limitation due to pain-related and memory disabilities still occurred in one’s 40s, while seeing disabilities moved from onset in one’s 30s to limitation in their 40s. Limitation due to learning disabilities still occurred in one’s 20s, while mental health-related disabilities moved from onset in a person’s late 20s, to limitation in their early 30s. For most disability types, the mean and median yielded approximately the same ages. The exception again was learning disabilities where the difference between mean and median was 11 years and mental health-related disabilities to a lesser degree (four years).
“The mean interval4 from age of onset to age of limitation further highlights important variations by disability type. The shortest delay from onset to limitation occurred for flexibility, dexterity, mobility, and memory disabilities at around one year. The longest period occurred for seeing disabilities, with a mean delay of eight years from onset to limitation. Hearing and mental health-related disabilities also had relatively long delays, with a mean delay of approximately four years, while pain-related and learning disabilities averaged around two years from onset to limitation.”
Source: Morris, Stuart and McDiarmid, Carrly. (2021). “Age of Disability: From Onset to Limitation.” Canadian Survey on Disability Reports. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 89-654-X2021003.
“Access to appropriate and affordable housing is a human right and is critical for promoting health, dignity, safety, inclusion, and community participation [1]. In Canada, people with disability and others with accessible housing needs, such as those in the Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Deafblind, Sight-loss, and Neurodivergent communities, whose members do not necessarily identify with having a disability or being disabled, struggle with housing [2], and this issue is expected to grow over time. The number of people in Canada with one or more disabilities limiting participation in daily activities has increased by 5% over the past 5 years, such that it is now 27% of the population, or 8 million people [2]. As defined in Canadian legislation, a disability is any impairment that is permanent, temporary, or episodic, which leads to a significant limit on an individual’s ability to carry out some of life’s important functions or activities [3]. According to the social model of disability, a person’s disability can be considered to arise from societal barriers, rather than their physical or mental impairments [4]. For example, a home that is inaccessible may be considered disabling since it can prevent a person from being able to move throughout their environment and from being able to complete self-care (using the bathroom, bathing or showering), or home-care (house cleaning, cooking, laundry) activities, which are tasks they may otherwise be able to do or could perform with acceptable efficiency and independence in an accessible home. This inaccessibility can worsen a person’s health and well-being and the home environment itself may be considered to “entrench” the disability [5].
“Canadians with a disability have been identified as a vulnerable group for not having their core housing needs met [6]. Core housing needs include whether a household is affordable (paying less than 30% of income on shelter costs), suitable (enough space for the household composition), and adequate (housing in good repair). The difficulties experienced by the disability community in finding appropriate housing is not surprising given the high rates of low-income reported in people with disabilities, long-standing issues of discrimination, and added expenses associated with having a disability, such as accessibility-related home modifications [2, 7–9]. Consequently, many people with disabilities have unmet housing needs (i.e., need for widened doors, lack of a roll-in shower, ramps), which results in them living inaccessible homes [10]. In extreme cases where accessible housing cannot be found, some people with a disability end up living within very limited areas in their home, living with their family (e.g., parents, adult children), or in institutional settings (i.e., long-term care), which are often considered as last options [11–13].”
Source: Hitzig SL, Yuzwa KE, Weichel L, et al. Identifying priorities and developing collaborative action plans to improve accessible housing practice, policy, and research in Canada. PLoS One. 2025;20(2):e0318458. Published 2025 Feb 10. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0318458
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Page last updated August 5, 2025 by Doug McVay, Editor.