Digital accessibility.
A clearer path for your Canadian team.

The Accessible Canada Act is Canada's federal accessibility law. It aims to help create a barrier-free Canada by 2040 and applies to federal government bodies and federally regulated organizations. Digital teams should treat accessibility planning, progress reporting, feedback, procurement evidence and ICT accessibility as connected responsibilities.

CAN/ASC-EN 301 549:2024 is Canada's published ICT accessibility standard. It is an identical adoption of EN 301 549:2021 and includes testable requirements for web, non-web documents, software, mobile apps, hardware, communication tools, product documentation and support services.

WCAG is essential, especially for web pages and web applications, but it is not the whole picture. Canadian ICT accessibility also covers software behavior, non-web documents, mobile apps, hardware interactions, accessible support, documentation and procurement evidence.

If you sell ICT products or services to Canadian federal or federally regulated buyers, accessibility evidence can matter during procurement. A clear audit report, issue roadmap, accessibility statement and VPAT/ACR can help buyers understand your product's conformance.

Digital accessibility compliance in Canada means ensuring that websites, mobile applications, software, digital documents and other ICT can be used by people with disabilities and meet applicable accessibility requirements. Depending on the organization and jurisdiction, requirements may involve the Accessible Canada Act, CAN/ASC-EN 301 549:2024, WCAG and applicable provincial accessibility requirements.

The Accessible Canada Act is Canada's federal accessibility law. It aims to help create a barrier-free Canada by 2040 and applies to federal government bodies and federally regulated organizations. Covered organizations should consider accessibility planning, feedback processes, progress reporting and the identification, removal and prevention of accessibility barriers.

The Accessible Canada Act applies to organizations under federal jurisdiction. This includes federal government organizations and federally regulated sectors such as banking, telecommunications and transportation. Covered organizations may have responsibilities related to accessibility plans, feedback processes, progress reports and identifying, removing and preventing accessibility barriers.

There is no single WCAG version that applies to every organization and digital product across Canada. Requirements depend on the applicable federal or provincial law, regulation, accessibility standard, procurement requirement or organizational policy. Organizations should identify the requirements that apply to them and may use WCAG 2.2 AA as a current accessibility testing benchmark where appropriate.

Accessibility requirements for websites and mobile applications depend on the organization, jurisdiction and applicable accessibility framework. WCAG provides requirements for accessible web content, while CAN/ASC-EN 301 549:2024 addresses broader ICT accessibility requirements relevant to web content, software and mobile applications. Organizations should evaluate complete digital journeys, including navigation, forms, authentication, transactions, errors and interactive components.

Digital accessibility in Canada can extend beyond websites. CAN/ASC-EN 301 549:2024 includes accessibility requirements relevant to software, non-web documents and other ICT. Organizations should consider keyboard accessibility, assistive technology compatibility, programmatic information, accessible content structure, user interface controls and accessible documentation when evaluating digital products.

Organizations purchasing digital products should request clear accessibility evidence rather than relying only on general accessibility claims. Evidence may include an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) based on a VPAT where appropriate, independent accessibility audit results, testing methodology, known accessibility limitations, remediation plans and information about compatibility with assistive technologies.

Organizations can evaluate digital accessibility through a combination of automated testing, expert manual testing, keyboard testing and assistive technology testing. Testing should cover representative user journeys and applicable requirements from WCAG, CAN/ASC-EN 301 549:2024 and other relevant Canadian accessibility requirements. Identified barriers should be documented, remediated and retested before accessibility documentation is finalized.

Enabled.in can audit your digital product, test with assistive technologies, identify gaps against WCAG and CAN/ASC-EN 301 549, help your team remediate issues, retest fixes, and prepare accessibility documentation for reporting or procurement.

Contact us today to start your Canada accessibility compliance review.