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An estimated 402 children are added to the unfunded Ontario autism waitlist each month. Roughly 850 children register for the Ontario Autism Program every month. Only about 448 start funded services in that time. The gap between those two numbers is the net monthly growth.
These rates are averages drawn from bi-weekly progress reports covering late June 2024 through early January 2026. They are approximate and derived from freedom-of-information data. The registration rate is well-sourced. The funded-enrollment figure is an estimate, and because the funded share stayed roughly flat per CBC FOI, the net growth shown here is a conservative estimate.
The waitlist grows when more children register than start funded services. About 850 children register for the Ontario Autism Program each month. Only about 448 start funded services in the same period. The difference, an estimated 402 children a month, is added to the group waiting without funded support. Because the funded share has stayed roughly flat per CBC FOI, this net figure is a conservative estimate.
CBC News reviewed reports covering late June 2024 through early January 2026 and documented periods where the number of funded children fell even as new families kept registering. CBC documented at least one two-week period where 151 fewer children were funded while 456 more registered.
The result is steady growth. As of January 7, 2026, 88,175 children were registered and 67,509 were waiting without funded services. Only 23.4% of registered children had funded Core Clinical Services.
To stop the waitlist from growing, funded enrollment would need to reach about 850 children per month, matching the rate at which children register. That would only hold the line. It would not shrink the 67,509 children already waiting.
To clear the current backlog within five years, enrollment would need to reach about 1,975 children per month, assuming the current registration rate of about 850per month stays constant. At today's pace, that backlog cannot be cleared.
The current total and how it is counted.
The causes behind the wait, not just the rate.
How the 23.4% funded figure is calculated.
Primary source. Bi-weekly Ontario Autism Program progress reports covering late June 2024 through early January 2026, obtained through freedom of information. Source for the 88,175 registered, 20,666 funded, and the monthly registration rate behind these figures.
Verified Facts
OAP registrations jumped 21% since mid-2024, with the number of funded children dipping in some periods despite hundreds more registering
23.4%, Only 20,666 children have active funding agreements () — less than one in four
88,175, children are registered in the Ontario Autism Program
$965M, Ontario allocated to the Ontario Autism Program in 2026-27
WHO recommends accessible, community-based early interventions for children with autism — timely evidence-based psychosocial interventions improve communication and social engagement