Jurisdictions — Americas
Website accessibility across Canada: it's not just Ontario's AODA anymore
The question Canadian clients are asking
Most Canadian accessibility content stops at Ontario's AODA. But if your clients are in Manitoba, Nova Scotia, British Columbia — or federally regulated anywhere — different statutes apply, and "we're not in Ontario" is not the same as "we have no obligations."
What is true, verified
- Federal: the Accessible Canada Act (2019). Federally regulated entities — banks, telecoms, airlines, interprovincial transport, the federal public sector — fall under the ACA, which requires published accessibility plans, feedback mechanisms and progress reports. If your client is in one of those sectors, this applies regardless of province.
- Ontario: AODA. WCAG 2.0 AA for public websites of organizations with 50+ employees since January 1, 2021 (covered in depth in our Ontario guide).
- Manitoba: The Accessibility for Manitobans Act (2013). Manitoba has been rolling out accessibility standards under the AMA, including an information and communications standard that reaches web content. Compliance dates differ by organization type — check the current Manitoba government schedule rather than assuming Ontario's dates.
- Nova Scotia: Accessibility Act (2017). Nova Scotia legislated a goal of an accessible province by 2030 and is developing standards under it. Direction of travel is explicit even where a specific web deadline isn't yet.
- British Columbia: Accessible British Columbia Act (2021). Standards development is underway, with public-sector organizations first in line for requirements like accessibility committees and plans.
- Quebec is its own world. Public-sector web accessibility standards (SGQRI) apply to Quebec public bodies, and privacy obligations under Law 25 add a distinct compliance layer for anyone serving Quebec users.
The pattern for an agency: the statute differs by province and sector, but the technical evidence is the same everywhere — WCAG conformance, documented.
How to check a client site yourself
- Accessibility signals: run an automated WCAG checker (axe-core is the open-source standard) on the key templates. The mechanical failures — missing alt text, unlabelled fields, contrast — are the same in every province.
- Consent posture: load the site cold and watch what fires before consent (PIPEDA federally; Law 25 for Quebec users).
- Broken links and SEO basics: cover the 404s and missing metadata in the same pass.
- Document what you saw: capture the page state behind every finding.
The honest shortcut
We built SiteComply to do exactly that pass — accessibility signals, consent posture, broken links, SEO basics — in a single $29 audit where every finding points to the exact page state we observed. White-label friendly, built for agency portfolios, and it never claims more than it verified.