Website Accessibility Rules in Canada Outside Ontario

Short answer: Outside Ontario, Manitoba is the clearest case: as of November 2026, an ordinary private business there with at least one employee has a specific legal duty to make its website meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA, for new web content and content needed to access its goods and services, since 1 May 2025. Federally regulated businesses (banks, telecoms, airlines, interprovincial transport and similar) fall under the Accessible Canada Act's planning and feedback rules. In British Columbia and Nova Scotia, website standards for private businesses don't exist yet, but human rights law still applies everywhere, so WCAG 2.1 AA is the sensible baseline for any Canadian business site.

Province-by-province overview

The table below covers the rules that most often come up for small and mid-sized businesses outside Ontario. Ontario's AODA is a separate topic and isn't covered here.

Jurisdiction	Law	Who it binds (private sector)	Website requirement today	Status checked
Federal	Accessible Canada Act (ACA) and Accessible Canada Regulations	Federally regulated businesses, e.g. banks, telecoms, broadcasters, airlines, interprovincial transport	Accessibility plans, public feedback process and progress reports; firms averaging fewer than 10 employees are exempt from the planning and reporting duties	Justice Laws text, Nov 2026
Manitoba	Accessibility for Manitobans Act; Accessible Information and Communication Standard Regulation	Businesses and non-profits with one or more employees	New web content and content needed to access goods and services: WCAG 2.1 AA minimum. New or significantly updated web apps: WCAG 2.1 AA. Plus accessible formats on request, feedback process and staff training	In force for private sector since 1 May 2025
British Columbia	Accessible British Columbia Act	Currently the 750-plus public sector organizations in the regulation	No private-sector website standard yet; the Act provides for standards to be developed	gov.bc.ca, updated Sept 2026
Nova Scotia	Accessibility Act	Public and private organizations as standards are made	Information and Communication standard expected in 2028–29; the Built Environment standard applies from 1 April 2026 (buildings, not websites)	novascotia.ca, Nov 2026
Elsewhere	Provincial human rights codes	Every business serving the public	No technical standard, but a duty not to discriminate on the basis of disability in services	—

Manitoba in more detail

The Manitoba Accessibility Office lists the general requirements of the Information and Communication Standard:

Tell the public and staff they can request information in an accessible format or with a communication support.
When someone asks, consult them about what would remove the barrier, and provide it promptly at no extra cost.
Set up a process to receive and respond to feedback about accessible information.
Train staff and volunteers with relevant duties.
Meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA, at a minimum, for newly published web content and content required to access your goods and services, and for new or significantly updated web applications.

Compliance dates ran in three waves: the Manitoba government on 1 May 2023, the public sector on 1 May 2024, and private businesses, non-profits and small municipalities on 1 May 2025. Exceptions exist, so check the regulation itself for your situation. Manitoba's earlier Customer Service Standard also applies to businesses, which is why a contact form that only works with a mouse is a problem there on two counts.

Federal: who counts as "regulated"

Section 7 of the Accessible Canada Act lists the entities it covers, including federal government bodies, Crown corporations and private businesses operating federal works, undertakings or businesses. A small accounting firm in Winnipeg isn't covered; a regional airline or an internet service provider is. Covered businesses must publish accessibility plans, run feedback processes and report on progress. The Accessible Canada Regulations exempt private regulated entities averaging fewer than 10 employees from those planning and reporting duties, but not from the Act's broader aims.

British Columbia and Nova Scotia

Both provinces have accessibility laws, but neither yet has a website standard that applies to private businesses. B.C.'s regulation currently names public sector bodies such as local governments, school districts and health authorities. Nova Scotia's government says its Information and Communication standard is expected in 2028–29. If you build a new site in either province now, building to WCAG 2.1 AA means you won't need a rebuild when those standards land.

Why "no specific law" doesn't mean "no risk"

Every province has a human rights code that prohibits discrimination in providing services, and disability is a protected ground in all of them. A website that blocks a screen reader user from booking or buying can become a human rights complaint even where no accessibility standard names websites. Canada also has customers from Ontario and the US, where other rules apply. In practice, one standard for the whole site is far cheaper than several.

A practical baseline plan for any Canadian business

Pick the target. WCAG 2.1 Level AA, which is what Manitoba names and what most procurement and legal advice in Canada points to.
Audit the money pages first. Home, contact, booking, checkout, account login. Use an automated checker for quick wins, then test by keyboard only and with a screen reader (VoiceOver or NVDA).
Fix the common failures. Missing form labels, low colour contrast, images without alt text, keyboard traps in menus and pop-ups, unlabelled buttons, auto-playing video, and PDFs that are scanned images.
Check third-party tools. Booking widgets, chat bubbles, payment pages and map embeds are often the least accessible parts. Ask vendors for their accessibility conformance report.
Add an accessibility statement and request route. Say what standard you aim for and how someone can get information in another format. In Manitoba this request route is a legal requirement.
Train whoever publishes content. Headings, link text, alt text and accessible documents are habits, not one-off fixes.
Re-test when you change things. New pages are "new web content" under Manitoba's rule.

Overlays that promise one-line compliance don't fix underlying code problems, and they're not a substitute for the steps above.

This is a summary of the rules as published in November 2026, not legal advice.

FAQ

Does the Accessible Canada Act apply to my online store?

Only if your business is federally regulated. A retailer selling across Canada online is normally provincially regulated, so the ACA's planning rules don't apply, though provincial laws and human rights codes do.

My business is in Alberta. Do I need WCAG compliance?

We found no Alberta law setting website standards for private businesses as of November 2026. Human rights law still applies, and if you serve Manitoba or Ontario customers through a business presence there, those provinces' rules may matter.

Is WCAG 2.2 required anywhere in Canada?

Manitoba's standard names WCAG 2.1 Level AA as a minimum. Building to 2.2 AA meets 2.1 too, so it's a safe choice for new sites.

Do I have to fix my old pages in Manitoba?

The standard targets newly published content and content required to access your goods and services. Old pages people still need to buy or book from fall into the second group.

If you'd like an accessibility check on the pages your customers actually use, send us your site address.