Ontario Autism Program spend now nearly $1B, advocates hope it makes dent in waitlist

TORONTO – A new infusion of cash for the Ontario Autism Program in the recent provincial budget will bring annual spending to nearly $1 billion, money advocates hope will go directly toward core therapy for children.

Michael Parsa, the minister of children, community and social services, said the “vast majority” of the new funding will go toward core services since that is the largest part of the program, but it is an overall budget boost of $189 million.

“It will continue funding all the programs, and it’ll allow us to invite more and more families every day,” he said.

The Ontario Autism Coalition said it welcomes the new money, but worries it will not make enough of a dent in the waitlist for core therapy, which includes applied behaviour analysis, speech language pathology and occupational therapy.

“I think it comes down to what happened last year with a similar funding increase,” said president Alina Cameron. “When we look back at where movement would have mattered the most to families, we didn’t see a lot of movement at all.”

Advocates say the wait to access those services is now five years and figures obtained through freedom-of-information requests show that growth in the number of families seeking services is outpacing the number of families being enrolled and receiving funding.

Enrolment figures show that 17,138 children had funding for core services at the end of 2024 and by the end of 2025 that number rose by 3,500 — but the number of children registered to seek services rose by more than 9,800 during that same time frame.

That number now stands at more than 88,000.

Advocates have also been calling for non-monetary ways to make the program more efficient, including simplifying an annual, four-hour determination of needs process. As of the end of 2025, more than half of those interviews being conducted are renewals.

“We’re asking for efficiencies within the program too, not just funding,” Cameron said. “They aren’t ever going to move that wait list if they’re just doing these year-over-year injections of the same amount.”

Parsa was noncommittal about structural program changes.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Jen Zoratti | Next

Wednesdays

What's next in arts, life and pop culture.

Sign up for Jen Zoratti | Next

Sign Up

I consent to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies.

I consent to CASL agreement.

“Obviously we have to continue looking at the programs,” he said. “Some of the program that’s developed today might need some revisiting in the future, and that’s why we have to always have those conversations but make sure that families are on board.”

Parsa also touts the “pillar” programs families can access on a time-limited basis as they wait for funding for core services, including an entry-to-school program, urgent response services and support training for families. 

But after accessing a program like urgent response services for 12 weeks, families are often left waiting years more for funding for core services, NDP critic Alexa Gilmour noted. 

“They’re Band-Aids,” she said. “Families have told me over and over again that it is a bit of a hope killer. They get into that program, they think it’s going to offer them something. They leave it more discouraged than ever.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2026.