Statistics Canada has released a comprehensive five-year trend report on the disabled population. This is important information for personal injury and disability lawyers when assessing plaintiffs’ cases.
The highlights:
- More than one-quarter (27%) of Canadians aged 15 years and older, or 8 million people, had disabilities that limited their daily activities.
- Youth (ages 15 to 24) experienced the largest increase in disability rate – 20% in 2022, up from 13% in 2017.
- As we have noted earlier from several sources, mental health-related disabilities showed the largest increase, reported by 39% of all disabled people in 2022, up from 33% in 2017.
- Women are more likely be disabled, particularly with severe disabilities.
- Employment prospects for the disabled have improved –nearly two-thirds (62%) of disabled working-age adults (ages 25 to 64) were employed in 2022.
- Despite this, nearly half of disabled Canadians faced financial challenges due to the COVID pandemic.
The most prevalent types of disabilities reported:
- Pain-related (62%)
- Flexibility (40%)
- Mobility (39%)
- Mental health-related (39%)
The prevalence of mental health-related, seeing, learning, memory and developmental disabilities has increased. In 2022, the largest increase belonged to mental health-related disabilities, which increased+6 percentage points, from 33% in 2017.This increase aligns with other sources’ findings we have reported. The proportion of people reporting “very good” or “excellent” mental health has decreased over the past several years, while the proportion reporting “fair” or “poor” mental health has increased.
Perhaps not surprisingly, disability rate increases with age, to 40% among seniors. The aging population has been a factor in the overall increase.
We have reported earlier on the differences in type of disability by age group. The increase in the disability rate among Youth is driven largely by mental health, now reported by two-thirds (68%) of young people.
As might be expected, the employment rate is higher among people with less severe disabilities. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of working-age adults with milder disabilities were employed in 2022, vs. fewer than half (42%) of persons with more severe disabilities.
As we reported earlier, disabled people earn less than other Canadians, and this gap varies by type of disability. The median personal after-tax income of disabled Canadians was $32,870 in 2022, 17% lower than other people. Among people with more severe disabilities, median personal after-tax income ($28,110) was lower than for those with milder disabilities($36,900).
The COVID pandemic posed particular challenges for disabled people. Two in five (45%) disabled people reported the pandemic created difficulties in their ability to meet financial obligations. Working age adults with disabilities were more likely to report financial challenges due to the pandemic than youth and seniors were.
In 2024, Statistics Canada will be releasing more detailed analysis relating to the demographics, income, and employment of disabled people. Personal injury and disability lawyers need to stay abreast of these trends and their economic consequences for clients.
