Provincial program · Alberta
Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH)
Alberta pays more than most provinces, and asks a harder question to let you in.
What it is
A monthly living allowance, plus health benefits, personal benefits, and a child benefit for dependent children. Since 1 July 2026 Alberta has also run the Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP), for disabled Albertans expected to be able to work. It pays a lower core benefit than AISH and lets you earn more before your payment is touched. Everyone on AISH was written to in May 2026 saying which of the two they are on — if that letter has gone, ask.
Who it is for
A severe impairment that is permanent, where all relevant treatment that could lessen it has been completed and no improvement is expected, and which substantially limits your ability to earn a living. That last part matters: Alberta asks about employment, while the federal Disability Tax Credit asks about everyday activities. Someone can plainly meet one test and not the other.
What it pays
Why there is no amount here
Alberta’s AISH Act and Regulations changed on 2 July 2026, and the rate tables now redirect into a policy manual still being rewritten. We are not printing a number we cannot open and read. The official page below carries the current amount.
How to apply
One application, two programs. Since 1 July 2026 Alberta has run AISH alongside the Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP), and a single combined application covers both — an adjudicator decides which one you are placed in, so there is no wrong door. You are also required to apply for every other income you might be entitled to, including the Canada Pension Plan disability benefit and the Canada Disability Benefit.
What it does with the federal money
Must be reported — it may affect your provincial payment
Alberta requires you to tell AISH when a Canada Disability Benefit or Disability Tax Credit application is approved — or denied. It has not exempted the federal payment the way Ontario has, so ask what it does to your allowance before you plan around it.
What catches people out
Because Alberta makes you pursue other income first, a federal approval can reduce your provincial cheque. That is not a reason to skip applying: the Disability Tax Credit still opens the Registered Disability Savings Plan and the Child Disability Benefit, and those are yours regardless. It is a reason to ask the question before you count the money twice.
Being on this program does not give you the Disability Tax Credit. It is a separate federal approval with its own test — and it is the one that unlocks the Canada Disability Benefit and the Registered Disability Savings Plan. A great many people receiving provincial support never apply, because they assume they are already covered.
The official page
Always the final word on rules, amounts and forms:
Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) (opens in a new tab)
See what you may qualify for.
About four minutes. Nothing is shared with the government.