Federal Government Finalizes Digital Technologies Accessibility Regs (Canada)

Blakes reports that Canada registered amendments to the Accessible Canada Regulations on December 5, 2025, creating the Digital Technologies Accessibility Regulations.

The rules add major obligations covering websites/web apps, mobile apps, and digital documents (including PDFs), anchored to the CAN/ASC-EN 301 549 ICT Standard (aligned with WCAG). Requirements include accessibility statements, conformity assessments (with retention), and employee training. Most obligations begin December 5, 2027 (federal public sector) and December 5, 2028 (private sector).

https://www.blakes.com/insights/federal-government-finalizes-new-digital-technologies-accessibility-regulations/ (opens in a new window)

The 3 key points everyone should take away

1) This is a federal digital accessibility compliance expansion, not guidance
Takeaway: The regulations create enforceable obligations for digital technologies (web, mobile, documents) under the Accessible Canada Act framework.

Amendments were registered December 5, 2025 under the Accessible Canada Regulations / Accessible Canada Act and “add significant digital accessibility compliance obligations.” Scope explicitly covers web pages/web applications, mobile applications, and digital documents such as PDFs.

2) The technical benchmark is CAN/ASC-EN 301 549 (ICT Standard), aligned with WCAG Takeaway: This standardization removes ambiguity: digital compliance is tied to the ICT Standard, which incorporates WCAG requirements.

The regulations adopt Accessibility Standards Canada’s CAN/ASC-EN 301 549 (“Accessibility Requirements for ICT Products and Services”).

The ICT Standard “incorporates” WCAG conformity requirements, and Blakes notes it should not conflict with WCAG-based obligations under provincial laws.

3) Organisations must operationalise compliance: statements, assessments, training, procurement, timelines
Takeaway: The work is continuous and auditable. It is not only remediation, but governance. From the article (the “four key new obligations”): Conformity obligations for employee-facing pages and, for many entities, also non-employee-facing pages, mobile apps, and (500+ employees) downloadable documents like PDFs.

Accessibility statements (500+ private sector and public sector), updated annually, including disclosure of non-conformance and plans to address it.

Conformity assessments (including gap analysis) plus retention for four years, and procurement-linked assessments in relevant cases.

Training every three years for staff involved in development/maintenance/procurement, with records retained for four years.

Compliance dates: generally December 5, 2027 (federal public sector, except mobile/non-web docs) and December 5, 2028 (private sector and federal public sector for mobile/non-web docs).

How can you automate PDF compliance?

....in minutes make a significant improvement 95% less cost, 85% improvement - See it live on YouTube https://youtu.be/fJsh_2Ip7xU (opens in a new window)