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For media · updated 2026-08-10
Every figure, with its source, its date, and what it does not mean.
On deadline
One row per figure. Each row carries its own permanent anchor, so a single number can be linked directly.
Every value below is read from the same source modules the rest of the site reads, so a figure quoted here is the figure shown everywhere else. The caveat column is not a disclaimer. It is the part that keeps a correct number from becoming a wrong sentence.
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| Figure | As of | Source | What this number does not mean | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 91,974children and youthRegistered with the Ontario Autism Program#fig-registered | May 13, 2026 | MCCSS FOI via OAC · May 2026 | Not a count of autistic children in Ontario. A child can only register after receiving a diagnosis, so children still waiting to be assessed are not in this total. | |
| 20,711children and youthActive Core Funding Agreements#fig-active-funding-agreements | May 13, 2026 | MCCSS FOI via OAC · May 2026 | Not proof that therapy was delivered. The column records a signed, active agreement on the reporting date, not services received. | |
| 71,263children and youthRegistered without an active funding agreement#fig-waiting-without-funding | May 13, 2026 | MCCSS FOI via OAC · May 2026 | Not a count of children who were refused. It is registered children minus active agreements; most of these families have never been invited to apply for funding. | |
| 24,417children and youthEnrolled in Core Clinical Services#fig-enrolled-core-services | May 13, 2026 | MCCSS FOI via OAC · May 2026 | Enrolment means a family accepted a Core Clinical Services invitation and has not exited the OAP. It does not mean the child or youth has an active funding agreement or is receiving services. | |
| 3,706children and youthEnrolled without an active funding agreement#fig-enrolled-without-agreement | May 13, 2026 | MCCSS FOI via OAC · May 2026 | Not a separate group from the waiting figure. Waiting is measured against active agreements, so these children are counted inside both the enrolled total and the waiting total. | |
| 22.5%of registered children and youthShare of registered children with active funding#fig-percent-funded | May 13, 2026 | MCCSS FOI via OAC · May 2026 | Not the share receiving services. The enrolled share (27%) is higher and does not mean more children are being served, because enrolment includes families with no funding agreement. | |
| +2,175children and youth, March 4, 2026 to May 13, 2026Change in registrations, most recent published window#fig-window-registrations | March 4, 2026 to May 13, 2026 | FOI release CSS2026-0749 and MCCSS FOI via OAC · May 2026 | Not a projection and not a monthly rate. It is the difference between two published columns of the same bi-weekly progress-report series. | |
| +78children and youth, March 4, 2026 to May 13, 2026Change in active funding agreements, same window#fig-window-funding-agreements | March 4, 2026 to May 13, 2026 | FOI release CSS2026-0749 and MCCSS FOI via OAC · May 2026 | Not a count of children newly funded. Agreements start and end within the same window, so this is a net change, and the sign can be negative. | |
| $965Mallocated for the fiscal yearOntario Autism Program allocation, 2026-27#fig-oap-budget | 2026-27 | Ontario Budget 2026-27Primary record (opens in a new tab)› | Not spending. An allocation states what was set aside for the fiscal year, not what was paid out or what reached families. | |
| $1.35Bper year, costed in 2020FAO estimated annual cost to serve registered children#fig-fao-estimate | 2020 | Financial Accountability Office of Ontario, 2020Primary record (opens in a new tab)› | Not a current cost to clear the list. The estimate was costed in 2020 at 2018-19 service levels for about 40,700 children, far fewer than are registered today. | |
| $691.2Mestimated expenditureTotal Ontario Autism Program spending, FY 2023-24#fig-oap-total-spending | FY 2023-24 | Financial Accountability Office of Ontario, FY 2023-24Primary record (opens in a new tab)› | Not a current-year figure and not all therapy. Core Clinical Services — the funding families wait for — accounted for $307.3M of the total. | |
| $57.9Mestimated operational spendingAccessOAP operations, FY 2023-24#fig-accessoap-operations | FY 2023-24 | MCCSS spending breakdown, FY 2023-24Primary record (opens in a new tab)› | Not a current contract value and not a finding about value for money. It is an estimated operational figure for the programme administrator in one past fiscal year.Verification status: verified. The precise line item comes from the Freedom of Information release to The Trillium; the Financial Accountability Office confirms the programme total but does not break out this figure. |
12 figures · data as of May 13, 2026 · last verified 2026-08-10
Three shapes, each naming the ministry that released the figures and the organisation that requested them.
For a line of copy or a chart credit.
End The Wait Ontario. (2026). Ontario Autism Program Access Snapshot — May 13, 2026. https://www.endthewaitontario.com/data-hub#oap-access-snapshotFor a story that names the ministry and the requester in full.
Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, Ontario Autism Program Core Clinical Services progress report, data as of 2026-05-13, obtained by the Ontario Autism Coalition through a Freedom of Information request; compiled in End The Wait Ontario, Ontario Autism Program Access Snapshot — May 13, 2026, https://www.endthewaitontario.com/data-hub.For reuse of the machine-readable export.
End The Wait Ontario. Ontario Autism Program Access Snapshot — May 13, 2026 [Data set]. Release oap-access-snapshot-2026-05-13, data as of 2026-05-13. Derived from MCCSS Ontario Autism Program figures, May 13, 2026, obtained by the Ontario Autism Coalition under Freedom of Information. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Full methodology: how every number on this site is verified.
How these figures reached the public record, and what has been asked for next.
late June 2024 through early January 2026
CBC News (Nicole Brockbank & Angelina King), through a Freedom of Information request
The first sustained release of the series. CBC reviewed reports from late June 2024 through early January 2026 and published its analysis on 2026-03-30.
Read the primary record (opens in a new tab)›to March 4, 2026
Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, obtained by the Ontario Autism Coalition
The same bi-weekly Core Clinical Services series, carried forward to the March 4, 2026 column. Superseded as the headline, retained as the basis for the window change above.
Open the release record›data as of May 13, 2026
Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, obtained by the Ontario Autism Coalition
The current headline column, and the first release to report enrolment and active funding agreements as separate counts.
Open the release record›Six Freedom of Information requests are written and under review. 6 of 6 are drafted and not yet submitted, so nothing below has been asked on the record yet. Asking a ministry for records is a routine statutory right and alleges no wrongdoing.
| Date | Record | Publisher | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 2026Tier 1 | MCCSS bi-weekly OAP Core Clinical Services progress reports (FOI release CSS2026-0749)Verified 2026-03-04 | Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (Ontario) | Tier 1 |
| January 7, 2026Tier 1 | CBC News freedom-of-information investigation into Ontario Autism Program bi-weekly progress reportsVerified 2026-03-30 | CBC News | Tier 1 |
| 2024Tier 1 | Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services: Spending Plan Review (2024)Verified 2024-06-01 | Financial Accountability Office of Ontario | Tier 1 |
| 2026Tier 1 | Ontario Budget 2026 — OAP AllocationVerified 2026-03-01 | Ontario Ministry of Finance | Tier 1 |
Release oap-access-snapshot-2026-05-13 · data as of 2026-05-13 · published under a Creative Commons Attribution licence.
Cited & referenced by
The data and explainers here are cited, referenced, and reported on by institutions, newsrooms, and resource hubs, including OPSEU/SEFPO — “Open the books. Fund our services.” report, CNMNG — Canadian National Multimedia Group, Corriere Canadese, The Trillium.
See who cites this workKeep exploring
Guides and tools related to this page.
Does OAP enrolment mean a child is receiving services?
VerifiedNo. As of 2026-05-13, 24,417 children and youth were enrolled in Core Clinical Services, while 20,711 had an active Core Funding Agreement. Enrolment includes people who accepted an invitation and had not exited; it does not establish that services are being received.
Source: MCCSS Ontario Autism Program figures, May 13, 2026, obtained by the Ontario Autism Coalition under Freedom of Information · Open source record
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 · May 2026 · Open source record
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 · Open source record
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
Sources 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
According to the FAO (2020 report), OAP funding covers less than one-third of estimated need at 2018-19 service levels
$965M
Ontario allocated $965M to the Ontario Autism Program in 2026-27
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