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An index of key FOI releases, FAO reports, and government documents related to the Ontario Autism Program, primary sources for journalists, researchers, and advocates.
All figures are FOI-verified or sourced from government documents.
Registered
91,97491,974Children registered
Total in the Ontario Autism Program queue
MCCSS FOI via OAC · May 2026
Funded
20,71120,711Have active funding
Only 22.5% of registered children
MCCSS FOI via OAC · May 2026
Waiting
71,26371,263Still waiting
Registered. Diagnosed. Un-funded.
MCCSS FOI via OAC · May 2026
Verified , MCCSS FOI via OAC · May 2026
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Children registered | 91,974 |
| Have active funding | 20,711 |
| Still waiting | 71,263 |
91,974 registered, 24,417 enrolled, 20,711 with active funding agreements (not proof of service receipt), and 71,263 waiting without active core funding. Enrolment is not the same as receiving services.
CBC News obtained 18 months of OAP bi-weekly progress reports (late June 2024 through January 7, 2026) via Freedom of Information request. The January 7 snapshot recorded 88,175 registrations and 67,509 children without active funding, and documented funding dips during periods of registration growth.
The FAO's independent review of MCCSS spending plans, including OAP funding allocations, service delivery projections, and cost-to-clear estimates. This report underpins the $1.9B–$2.5B gap calculations used throughout this site.
The Ontario Autism Coalition obtained historical OAP registration and waitlist data via Freedom of Information requests, providing the longitudinal baseline for understanding waitlist growth since the 2019 reform. This data informs the OAC's public advocacy and was used in FAO analyses.
The FAO's 2020 projection estimated that restoring OAP to 2018-19 service levels would require approximately $1.35B annually. This projection is the baseline for ongoing cost-to-clear calculations and predates the significant registration growth seen from 2021 onward.
At the time of the April 2019 OAP redesign, approximately 23,000 children were registered, a figure cited in FAO analyses and OAC historical tracking. This is the baseline against which subsequent growth is measured. Note: the government did not publish exact real-time registration counts at the time of reform.
Ontario Budget 2026-27 allocated $965M to the Ontario Autism Program. Budget documents are the primary government source for annual OAP funding figures and are used as the baseline for all budget gap calculations.
For Journalists & Researchers
All data on this site is sourced from public records. Contact us for media inquiries or to request additional documentation.
Related Resources
How many children are on the Ontario autism waitlist in 2026?
VerifiedAs of May 13, 2026, 91,974 children are registered with the Ontario Autism Program. However, only 20,711 (22.5%) have an active Core Funding Agreement. This represents ~300% growth in registrations since 2019, with 71,263 children still waiting for essential funding.
Source: MCCSS FOI via OAC · Mar 2026, FAO Report 2024 · Verify Link
Where does Ontario autism program money go?
VerifiedIn 2023-24, Ontario spent $691.2 million on the Ontario Autism Program (OAP), but only $307.3 million (44.5%) reached Core Clinical Services — direct therapy. The intake system AccessOAP, operated by Accerta Services Inc. (affiliated with the Ontario Dental Association), received $57.9 million to administer registrations. That is 55 cents of every dollar not reaching a therapist's office. Source: Financial Accountability Office of Ontario, 2023-24 report.
Source: Financial Accountability Office of Ontario (FAO) 2023-24 Report; MCCSS FOI · Verify Link
Does Ontario publish transparent autism waitlist data?
VerifiedOntario does not publish transparent, real-time waitlist data for the Ontario Autism Program. Families do not know their position in the queue or when services will begin. The Financial Accountability Office provides periodic reports, but detailed enrollment timelines are not publicly available.
Source: FAO Report 2023-24; MCCSS OAP Program Data
Evidence on this page
Key claims are paired with their source, evidence tier, and verification date so readers can inspect the public record directly.
91,974
children are registered in the Ontario Autism Program
22.5%
Only 20,711 children have active funding agreements (22.5%), less than one in four
OAP registrations jumped 21% since mid-2024, with the number of funded children dipping in some periods despite hundreds more registering
$965M
Ontario allocated $965M to the Ontario Autism Program in 2026-27
According to the FAO (2020 report), OAP funding covers less than one-third of estimated need at 2018-19 service levels