Enabling Accessibility Fund 2026 Call for Proposals

• A Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) document showing your valid business number (not more than 2 years old; not required if you are already a registered GCOS user).
• An external quote for each non-flat rate project activity.
• The PDF summary page from the EAF 2026 Calculator (“Total estimated eligible costs for your project”) for all project activities.
• At least one digital “before” photo per project activity space and/or images/screenshots of accessible items/equipment to be purchased and/or website screenshots for web accessibility work (as applicable).

Who is eligible?

• Not-for-profit organizations (including social enterprises)
• For-profit organizations with up to 99 full-time equivalent employees
• Indigenous organizations
• Municipal governments where the population of the municipality is less than 100,000 (2021 census)
• Territorial governments

Who is not eligible

• Federal and provincial government organizations.
• Municipal governments with a population of 100,000 or more (per the 2021 census).
• Public schools, publicly funded health care institutions, and public hospitals.
• Crown corporations and entities controlled by a federal or provincial government (or entities located on land owned by a federal or provincial government).
• Residential housing organizations (for example, condo boards, co-op boards, and other not-for-profit organizations that manage residential housing).

Eligible expenses

• Professional fees (for example, architects, engineers, construction consultants, and contractors).
• Accessibility-specific construction, renovation, or retrofit costs, including materials, supplies and labour (excluding salaries/wages for your organization’s employees).
• Purchase or rental of tools, equipment, or machinery required to complete the project.
• Taxes (only the portion not eligible for a rebate).
• Shipping costs when items are not available locally.
• Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and accessibility equipment designed to reduce or eliminate barriers for persons with disabilities (for example, accessible software, adapted ICT equipment, audio induction loop systems, noise-cancelling headphones, adaptive and accessible sports/recreational equipment for community use, universally accessible furniture/accessories, sensory tools/equipment).
• 50% of quoted costs for the creation of a new accessible website or remediation of an existing website to be accessible (including accessibility audits/assessments only when part of a website project and accompanied by accessibility improvements).
• Other costs approved as part of the funding agreement with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• General construction costs (for example: new walls, roofs, ceilings, windows, or new plumbing/electrical/HVAC “rough-in”).
• Contingency funds.
• Salaries and benefits for the applicant organization’s employees.
• Professional accessibility-related services (for example: translation, converting content into accessible formats, or sign language interpretation).
• Computers, laptops, and tablets.

Eligible geographic areas

• Canada (projects in workplaces and communities across Canada).

• ESDC screens your application for eligibility (including being received by the deadline, being complete, your organization’s eligibility, accessibility-only activities, and readiness to begin spending by December 1, 2026); incomplete applications may be screened out.
• If eligible, ESDC assesses the project’s relevance, activities and expected results, including how you will measure and report results.
• Based on funding priorities, ESDC may have an external contractor (with construction and accessible design expertise) conduct a feasibility and cost review of shortlisted applications.
• ESDC expects to make funding decisions in Summer 2026; not all applications will be funded, decisions are final, and there is no appeal process.
• If approved, you should wait to start your project until a funding agreement is signed, as costs incurred before signing may not be reimbursed and the project may no longer be eligible for funding.

• The application period runs from January 16, 2026, to March 12, 2026, at 3:00 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST).
• Funding decisions are expected in Summer 2026.
• Your project must be ready to start spending funds by December 1, 2026, and be completed within 24 months of the project start date.
• Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) will host virtual information sessions on January 28–29 and February 11–12, 2026 (English and French options).