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The 18-month clock: what Alberta’s switch from AISH to ADAP changes, and when the $200 ends

On 1 July 2026, Alberta started a change that many recipients did not ask for and are still working to understand. The province began moving people from Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) to a new program, the Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP). CBC News reported that roughly 46,000 Albertans were moved in the first wave.

If you or someone you support received a letter this spring, the most important thing to know is that the money did not drop on day one. A transition benefit is holding it level. What matters now is the date that benefit ends, and what you do before then. Here is the plain version.

What ADAP is, and how it differs from AISH

AISH and ADAP are both provincial disability income programs, but the province has drawn a new line between them based on capacity to work. For how provincial benefits fit alongside federal supports, our disability funding map for Canadians lays out the wider system.

In the government’s own framing, AISH is for a person with a severe disability that leaves them “permanently unable to work.” ADAP is for a person whose severe disability “significantly restricts but does not prevent” employment. The Alberta Disability Assistance Program page describes ADAP as helping “Albertans with disabilities pursue meaningful employment while continuing to receive the financial, health and personal supports they need.”

There is now a single combined application for both programs. An adjudicator reviews the file and places each applicant into the program judged to fit their situation, or refers the medical evidence to a panel for an AISH determination.

The core financial numbers, as published by the province:

  • ADAP’s core financial benefit is $1,740 per month.
  • ADAP’s employment income exemption for a single client is $700 per month, meaning you can earn up to that amount before your financial benefit is affected. For a parent it is $1,100, and for a cohabiting partner $1,500. AISH’s exemption for a single client or parent is $350.
  • Alberta says an ADAP recipient can earn up to $45,240 per year in employment income and still keep financial benefits, which the province calls the highest such limit of any comparable disability income program in Canada.

The transition benefit, and the clock

Here is the part that deserves a calendar reminder.

AISH recipients who moved to ADAP in July 2026 receive a $200 monthly transition benefit. The province says this “will keep their financial benefit the same as their existing AISH benefit amount until December 31, 2027.” In other words, ADAP pays a lower core rate, and the $200 top-up closes the gap so that no one who moved this July sees their cheque shrink right away.

The clock runs about 18 months, from July 2026 to the end of December 2027. During that window, the province says clients “can choose to remain on ADAP or apply for AISH.”

The decision that matters is what happens when the top-up ends. If you stay on ADAP and do not requalify for AISH, the $200 stops on 31 December 2027, and your financial benefit steps down to the ADAP rate. If you are assessed and found eligible for AISH before then, you move back to the AISH structure. That is the choice the 18 months are meant to give you time to make.

One detail eases the path back. The province says it will “cover the cost of one medical assessment for AISH clients who transition to ADAP in July and later choose to be assessed for AISH,” and that this support “is not time-limited.” So the paid assessment route to requalify for AISH stays open even after the transition benefit ends.

Who stayed on AISH automatically

Not everyone was moved. The province says AISH recipients who met one or more of the following were kept on AISH automatically, unless they chose to switch to ADAP for its higher earnings exemptions:

  • people with a severe and profound developmental disability, or who are eligible for or receiving Persons with Developmental Disabilities services
  • people with palliative or terminal medical conditions
  • people living in continuing care homes
  • people aged 60 or older

If you are in one of those groups and received a letter suggesting otherwise, that is worth a phone call to confirm.

Two other changes landing in August

The AISH-to-ADAP switch is the headline, but two related changes take effect in the August 2026 benefit period and reach more households.

First, couples. Where two adults in the same household both receive disability income assistance (AISH or ADAP), each partner will now receive 88 per cent of the maximum individual benefit rather than the full individual amount. The province says this “reflects a couple’s shared household expenses” and aligns with how other jurisdictions structure benefits. For a two-recipient household, that is a real reduction to plan around. The added costs that make a cut like this bite are the subject of our piece on the Crip Tax.

Second, child benefits. The province has recalibrated the monthly child benefit under both programs to $300 for the first child, $117 for the second, $88 for the third, $59 for the fourth, and $30 for each additional child. Alberta says the change will increase child benefits for about 7,000 families receiving disability income assistance.

What advocates are saying

The change has drawn organized pushback. Inclusion Alberta raised concerns during the consultation about how the new program sorts people by work capacity. The Alberta Doctors’ Digest ran a piece describing the changes as making “life harder for disabled Albertans.” CBC News reported that recipients of the new program worry it will be detrimental to them. We report these positions as attributed views; the program figures above are the government’s own published numbers.

What to do before the end of 2027

This is information, not advice, and every situation is different. A few practical steps stand out from the province’s own material:

  • Read the letter you received in May, which the province says contained information specific to your situation, including whether you stayed on AISH, moved to ADAP, or were affected by a regulatory change.
  • Use the official AISH and ADAP benefit estimator to see how your own numbers work rather than relying on a general figure. We do not publish personal benefit estimates here; the estimator is built for that.
  • Mark 31 December 2027 as the date the $200 transition benefit ends for July movers, and decide well before then whether to pursue an AISH assessment.
  • Remember that the province covers one medical assessment for July movers who later seek AISH, with no time limit, so the door back is not tied to the transition clock.
  • If your condition or ability to work changes, the province says ADAP clients can apply for an AISH assessment at that point.

The switch is done. The clock is the thing to watch.

Sources

Living Unlimited shares information, not financial or legal advice. For decisions about your own benefits, contact Alberta Assisted Living and Social Services or a qualified benefits advisor.

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