Overview

The Canadian Accessibility Network (CAN), housed at Carleton University’s Accessibility Institute, is a national collaboration advancing accessibility and inclusion across Canada.

Carleton has long been recognized as a leader in accessibility, with a strong commitment to inclusion through initiatives like the Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities, barrier-free campus design, and national projects in accessibility research, policy, and education. Building on this foundation, Carleton launched CAN in 2019 to connect partners and accelerate change nationwide.

Today, CAN is a community of more than 150 organizations and 275 members — including post-secondary institutions, non-profits, service providers, governments, crown corporations, and businesses — united by a shared vision: a fully accessible and inclusive Canada.

CAN is largely volunteer-driven, with members contributing their time, expertise, and lived experience — often as side-of-desk work — to advance accessibility in their fields. Through four Communities of Practice in Education & Training, Policy, Employment, and Research, Design & Innovation, these volunteers identify barriers, share solutions, and co-create practical tools with national impact.

They’ve developed influential resources such as the Ableism Guide and Engaging Persons with Disabilities Guide, informed national initiatives like the Accessible Canada Act and National Air Accessibility Summit, and connected thousands of Canadians through CAN Connect Forums. CAN also offers experiential learning for Carleton students, who contribute to projects, research, and communications that strengthen the Network’s reach and impact.

Your support helps sustain this momentum — ensuring this volunteer-powered network, anchored by Carleton’s leadership in accessibility, continues inspiring collaboration and accelerating progress toward a barrier-free Canada.

The Background

Accessibility is not just about removing barriers — it’s about creating a Canada where everyone can participate, contribute, and thrive. Yet for many people with disabilities, barriers to education, employment, transportation, and community life persist. Real change requires more than legislation; it requires collaboration, leadership, and a shared commitment to action.

That’s where the Canadian Accessibility Network (CAN) comes in. Based at Carleton University — a recognized national leader in accessibility — CAN is a community of more than 150 organizations and 275 members who share knowledge, develop tools, and drive change across sectors. From post-secondary institutions and governments to service providers and private industry, CAN unites people who believe accessibility benefits everyone.

What makes this network remarkable is that it is powered almost entirely by volunteers — experts, advocates, and people with lived experience who give their time and passion, often off the side of their desks, to advance accessibility in Canada.

Your gift will help sustain this community and amplify its impact. With your support, CAN can continue connecting leaders, sharing innovative practices, engaging Carleton students in meaningful experiential learning, and developing resources that shape more inclusive workplaces, schools, and communities.

Together, we can strengthen Canada’s accessibility movement — ensuring that inclusion is not just a goal, but a shared responsibility and a lived reality for all.

The Rollout

Your support will help sustain and grow the Canadian Accessibility Network (CAN).

Funds raised through this campaign will directly support connection, communication, and inclusion — the pillars that make CAN’s work possible and impactful. Specifically, donor contributions will help:

• Host and expand CAN Connect Forums, virtual events that bring together accessibility leaders, researchers, practitioners, and community members to share best practices and spark collaboration across industries and sectors.

• Sustain and grow CAN’s national newsletter, now reaching nearly 1,500 subscribers, ensuring accessibility knowledge, resources, and success stories are shared widely across sectors and regions.

• Provide essential accessibility supports — including ASL/LSQ interpretation, real-time captioning, transcription, and bilingual delivery — so that members and non-members can participate fully in meetings, events, and learning opportunities.

• Support the creation and knowledge mobilization of CAN resources, including translation, editing, and design of guides and toolkits developed by CAN’s Communities of Practice, to advance accessibility in Canada and beyond.

• Support student involvement in CAN initiatives, providing experiential learning opportunities for Carleton students who assist in research, communications, and coordination of CAN’s Communities of Practice and events.

Your contribution will also help sustain the coordination and growth of the Network itself, ensuring that CAN’s volunteers and collaborators have the support, tools, and infrastructure they need to continue leading national conversations and driving real, lasting change.

Every donation helps remove barriers — not only for individuals, but for the organizations and systems working toward a more inclusive Canada. Together, we can sustain the momentum of this powerful national movement.

The Impact

A gift to the Canadian Accessibility Network (CAN) is more than a donation — it’s an investment in a more accessible and inclusive Canada.

Your support helps advance accessibility in ways that transcend sectors, disciplines, and individual organizations. By sustaining this national, volunteer-powered network, your contribution helps build a future where accessibility is not an afterthought, but an integral part of how we design, educate, employ, and engage.

Academically, your support not only strengthens Carleton University’s leadership in accessibility but also creates valuable experiential learning opportunities for students. By contributing to CAN’s projects and Communities of Practice, students gain hands-on experience in accessibility, research, and collaboration — developing the next generation of leaders who will carry this work forward.

Personally, your gift empowers hundreds of professionals, advocates, and volunteers who contribute their time and expertise — often “off the side of their desks” — to develop tools, share ideas, and influence change. It recognizes and amplifies their commitment to building a society where everyone belongs.

Across communities, your support fuels connection and collaboration through CAN Connect Forums, accessible resources, and national conversations that help shape more equitable workplaces, policies, and systems.

Your contribution is more than a gift — it’s a statement that accessibility matters, that inclusion strengthens us all, and that lasting change happens when we work together. By supporting CAN, you are helping to build a Canada where accessibility is not just a goal, but a shared reality for generations to come.