For immediate release // Toronto, Ontario
Friday, March 27, 2026

Community Living Ontario is pleased to see the inclusion of new funding to support people with developmental disabilities in the 2026 provincial budget. The budget includes an additional $407 million over three years “to help community organizations manage rising operational costs and continue delivering vital services… for individuals with special needs and developmental disabilities, as well as for survivors of gender-based violence or human trafficking.”   

While we must await further details on the announcement, we believe that this additional funding will have a positive impact on people’s health and quality of life while reducing downstream costs in the health care, shelter, and long-term care systems.  

As we noted in our pre-budget recommendations, people with developmental disabilities experience significantly worse social, economic and health outcomes than their non-disabled peers. Because of this, they are at high risk of spending long periods in hospital, and are overrepresented in shelters and in long-term care facilities, sectors that are ill-equipped to meet their needs. Investment in the developmental service sector is an important avenue for increasing people’s quality of life and reducing the need for more expensive care. 

We thank Premier Ford, Minister Bethlenfalvy and Minister Parsa for delivering positive news to people who have a developmental disability and their families across Ontario. We look forward to working with government and continuing to advocate with and for the people who rely on services provided by Community Living Ontario members. 

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About Community Living Ontario 

Community Living Ontario is a non-profit provincial association that has been advocating with people who have developmental disabilities and their families for more than 70 years. We proudly work alongside people, family networks, and more than 120 local agencies operating in communities across the province, to ensure that people’s personal, health, and social support needs are met. 

For media inquiries please contact:  

Lisa Tabachnick, Director of Marketing, Communications and Development 

lisa@communitylivingontario.ca 

(416) 819-8764