Canadian accessibility laws for online stores

There are three layers. The federal Accessible Canada Act covers federally regulated organizations. Provincial acts, such as Ontario's AODA and the Accessibility for Manitobans Act, cover businesses in those provinces. Human rights codes in every province apply to any business that serves the public, whatever its size.

WCAG (the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is the technical standard from the W3C that these rules point to. The table shows where each jurisdiction stands for a private online store.

The Accessible Canada Act applies to the federal government and to federally regulated private businesses, such as banks, airlines, rail and interprovincial transport, telecom and broadcasting. An ordinary online store is regulated by its province, so the Act almost never applies to a Shopify store.

The Accessible Canada Act (S.C. 2019, c. 10) also covers Crown corporations, Parliament, the RCMP and the Canadian Forces. Covered businesses must publish accessibility plans and progress reports under the Accessible Canada Regulations. Large businesses (100 or more employees) published their first plan by June 1, 2023, and small ones (10 to 99) by June 1, 2024. Businesses with 9 or fewer employees are exempt from plans and reports.

The Accessibility Commissioner enforces the Act. Penalties are set per violation: $250 to $75,000 for minor violations, $2,500 to $150,000 for serious ones and $6,250 to $250,000 for very serious ones. They are lower for small businesses and reduced by 10% if paid within 15 days.

New digital rules, the Regulations Amending the Accessible Canada Regulations (SOR/2025-255), were registered on December 5, 2025 and published on December 17, 2025. They point to CAN/ASC-EN 301 549:2024, which is the European standard EN 301 549 adopted as a National Standard of Canada. Its web section is WCAG 2.1 AA, and it is free in English and French.

The accessibility statement these rules ask for is worth copying even if the Act does not apply to you. It describes your accessibility features, lists what does not meet the standard yet with a plan to fix it, explains how to get a barrier-free alternative, and is updated every 12 months and kept for 4 years. Our statement generator follows the same model.

Every business and non-profit with at least one employee in Ontario, plus the Ontario government and public sector. Duties grow with size: the compliance report starts at 20 Ontario employees and the WCAG 2.0 AA website rule at 50.

Ontario's website rule (section 14 of O. Reg. 191/11) asks for WCAG 2.0 Level AA, except live captions (1.2.4) and audio description (1.2.5), and has applied since January 1, 2021. The next compliance report for businesses with 20 or more employees is due December 31, 2026. Our AODA compliance guide covers the report, penalties and a checklist.

Manitoba has the broadest private-sector web rule in Canada. Its Accessible Information and Communication Standard Regulation, under the Accessibility for Manitobans Act, has applied to businesses and non-profits since May 1, 2025. It covers any organization with at least one employee in Manitoba.

• Standard: WCAG 2.1 AA, a newer version than Ontario's.
• What it covers: new websites and web applications (and significant updates), new web content published on or after the compliance date, and content people need to get your goods or services.
• Exemptions: where it is technically not possible, the technology is not readily available, it would cause undue hardship, you have no direct control, and product labels and product information.
• Other duties: accessible formats on request, an accessible feedback process and training. Organizations with 50 or more employees must document their measures and policies and make them public.

The government runs random and sector reviews and calls administrative penalties a last resort. Offences can carry a fine of up to $250,000 on conviction (section 34 of the Act), and directors who authorized the offence can also be liable.

The Accessible British Columbia Act (2021) applies today to more than 750 public sector organizations, which need an accessibility committee, a plan and a feedback process. There is no binding web standard for private businesses yet.

Draft standards for employment and accessible service delivery went to public consultation in 2024. An independent reviewer was appointed in March 2026, and the review is due in fall 2027. Until a service standard is made into law, a BC store's duty comes from the BC Human Rights Code, which bars discrimination in services offered to the public (section 8).

Nova Scotia's Accessibility Act (2017) aims for an accessible province by 2030. Standards for the built environment and education came first. The Information and Communication Accessibility Standard, which will cover digital, print and in-person communication, is “expected in 2028-29” according to the province.

There is no web obligation for private stores in Nova Scotia today. Some vendors claim an earlier date or large web fines, but the official page does not support that.

Quebec has no accessibility standard for private websites. Its Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms still bars discrimination based on disability in goods and services offered to the public (sections 10 and 12).

The Charter of the French Language is a language law, not an accessibility law, but it has its own rules for businesses that serve Quebec customers. Bill 96, assented on June 1, 2022, tightened them. The exact requirements for websites, product information and software are detailed, so check them with a Quebec lawyer or the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) before you rely on them.

For the accessibility side, a Quebec-facing store can do three practical things:

• publish the accessibility statement and feedback form in French as well as English
• write French alt text (a short description of an image for people who cannot see it) for French pages
• set the page language correctly, which WCAG also asks for (3.1.1 Language of Page and 3.1.2 Language of Parts)

Every province and territory has a human rights code that bars discrimination on the ground of disability in services and goods offered to the public. None has an employee threshold. Examples are the Ontario Human Rights Code (section 1), the BC Human Rights Code (section 8) and the Quebec Charter (sections 10 and 12). The Canadian Human Rights Act covers federally regulated businesses.

The duty is to accommodate up to the point of undue hardship. Web case law in Canada is thin, and most disputes settle or go through tribunal mediation. The AODA itself says it does not reduce duties under the Ontario Human Rights Code (section 3).

The practical risk for a store is a complaint from a customer who could not buy, not a regulator's fine. A clear way to order by phone or email, named in your accessibility statement, is the fastest way to help that customer.

The provincial web rules follow your employees, not your customers. Human rights codes follow the service you offer to the public. Here is how that plays out for a few common Shopify set-ups.

If your store also sells to the US or the EU, those rules stack on top. Our overview of accessibility laws shows them side by side.

You do not need a separate plan for each province. One set of habits covers them all.

1. Work toward WCAG 2.2 AA. It includes the 2.0 AA criteria Ontario asks for and the 2.1 AA criteria Manitoba and the federal rules ask for.
2. Publish an accessibility statement in English, and in French if you sell in Quebec. Say what you have done, what is still open and how to reach you.
3. Offer feedback in more than one way, such as a form, email and phone.
4. Provide information in another format when someone asks.
5. Keep a dated record of scans, fixes and who approved them.

If you also sell to customers in the European Union, read our guide to the European Accessibility Act. It uses the same EN 301 549 standard as the federal rules.