Some Canadians could get a new one-time $150 benefit payment — Here's who's eligible

Canada's new federal budget, released Tuesday, includes several proposals aimed at tackling affordability issues Canadians are facing — including a new one-time payment related to a new benefit that's received criticism since its launch.

Budget 2025, tabled by Prime Minister Mark Carney's minority Liberal government, includes a plan to send one-time $150 payments to certain recipients of the Canada Disability Benefit.

The measure is part of a broader effort to address mounting criticism of the benefit, which launched this summer after years of delays and disappointed many disability advocates, who say it doesn't go far enough.

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Who would get the $150 payment?

According to the feds, the one-time supplemental payment would go to Canada Disability Benefit recipients to help offset the costs of applying for the Disability Tax Credit — a requirement for accessing the benefit that many advocates say creates an unnecessary obstacle.

While the budget claims the CDB has already "increased the financial well-being of hundreds of thousands of working-age low-income persons with disabilities" since it started this summer, it acknowledges that getting the required DTC certificate "can represent a financial barrier."

The payment would apply for "each Disability Tax Credit certification, or re-certification, giving rise to a Canada Disability Benefit entitlement," the budget document says.

It would also be retroactive to the benefit's launch in June 2025, meaning people who've already gone through the application process — or do so before the payment is approved — could still be eligible.

The budget allocates $115.7 million over four years starting in 2026-27, plus $10.1 million per year going forward, to fund the supplemental payments and cover administrative costs.

Other changes for disability in Canada

Budget 2025 also reaffirms the government's plan to exempt the Canada Disability Benefit from being treated as income under the Income Tax Act.

If passed, that would help ensure people receiving the benefit keep the full value of their payments without seeing reductions to other federal income-tested and government payments, like the Canada Child Benefit and the GST/HST Credit.

The feds say they're also looking at providing similar $150 payments for other DTC certifications as part of ongoing work to review and reform the application process for the credit.

All of these measures are part of what the government calls one of its "key priorities" to reduce poverty and increase financial well-being for low-income people with disabilities in Canada.

The CDB's rocky rollout

The Canada Disability Benefit became available for applications on June 20, with first payments issued in July 2025. It offers up to $200 per month to eligible Canadians aged 18 to 64 who are approved for the Disability Tax Credit.

But disability advocacy groups have been vocal about the benefit's shortcomings. Inclusion Canada, a national advocacy group for Canadians with intellectual disabilities, called the $200 amount "way too low" and argued it won't lift recipients above the poverty line. The group says the benefit should be at least $1,390 per month.

A major criticism centres on the DTC requirement itself. Inclusion Canada describes the DTC application process as "confusing, expensive and difficult," noting that many people who need government support don't qualify.

The proposed $150 payment appears designed to address concerns about application costs, though it wouldn't change the underlying eligibility requirements. Critics have called for the government to remove the DTC requirement entirely and allow people to automatically qualify if they already receive other disability-related benefits.

Another concern has been about clawbacks. Advocates worry that if the CDB is treated as part of someone's income, it could push their total earnings over the threshold to qualify for other federal benefits — meaning they'd lose access to programs they currently rely on, which would defeat the purpose.

The budget's proposal to exempt the Canada Disability Benefit from being treated as income under the Income Tax Act would address that issue directly, ensuring the payment doesn't count toward income thresholds and recipients don't see their other federal benefits reduced.

When could the $150 payments go out?

If everything goes according to plan, the first supplemental payments would be made "before the end of 2026-27," according to the budget document.

But that timeline depends on the budget actually passing — and Mark Carney's minority government needs support from opposition MPs to make that happen.

The political stakes

Whether any of this actually happens hinges on a confidence vote that could topple Carney's government and send Canadians back to the polls just months after the spring election.

The Liberals now hold 170 seats, two shy of a majority, after Conservative MP Chris d'Entremont crossed the floor Tuesday to support the budget.

They'd now need just two more votes in support — or four abstentions — to pass the budget and avoid sending Canadians back to the polls for the second time this year.

But the outlook isn't great. The federal budget projects a deficit of $78.3 billion for 2025-26, significantly higher than the $48.3 billion projected in the 2024 Fall Economic Statement.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre demanded in an October 20 open letter that the budget keep the deficit under $42 billion — and it evidently didn't. His 143 remaining MPs are unlikely to vote in favour unless more cross the floor.

The Bloc Québécois, which holds 22 seats, announced 18 budget demands last month, six of which finance critic Jean-Denis Garon called non-negotiable. The budget didn't follow through on those demands, and Garon told reporters the Bloc's support would be "difficult to obtain."

The NDP, with its measly seven seats, could be key. While the party's MPs aren't likely to vote in support of an austerity budget, they could abstain — and if at least four of them do, that could be enough for the budget to pass.

That confidence vote could happen as soon as November 17, giving the Liberals just two weeks to convince opposing MPs not to vote down their plan.

Do you think the new measures are enough?

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