Quick answer: In Canada, help with a mobility scooter or power wheelchair comes mostly from your province or territory, and the rules differ sharply. Ontario’s Assistive Devices Program pays 75% of the approved price of a power scooter, Quebec lends eligible people a four-wheel scooter at no charge, while Alberta’s AADL programme funds power wheelchairs but lists scooters as not funded. Veterans Affairs Canada, the federal medical expense tax credit and the GST/HST zero rate can add to this. Checked on official pages in September 2026; always confirm with your own province.
Every Canadian funding route at a glance
| Scheme | Who it is for | What it can cover | How to apply |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario Assistive Devices Program (ADP) | Ontario residents with a valid health card and a disability needing a mobility aid for 6 months or longer | 75% of the ADP price of manual and power wheelchairs and power scooters; 100% for some social assistance recipients | Assessment by an ADP-registered occupational therapist or physiotherapist, then an ADP-registered vendor |
| Quebec mobility scooter programme | Quebec residents with a significant, persistent inability to walk | Loan of a four-wheel scooter (three-wheel in exceptional cases), with no fees or deductibles | Contact your territorial health and social services establishment |
| RAMQ devices for a physical deficiency | Quebec health insurance card holders with a physical impairment | Wheelchairs and other locomotor assists; three- and four-wheel scooters are excluded | Through an authorised public rehabilitation facility |
| Alberta Aids to Daily Living (AADL) | Albertans with a long-term disability, chronic or terminal illness | Manual and power wheelchairs; scooters are listed as not funded | Clinical assessment by an AADL authoriser |
| BC Employment and Assistance medical equipment | People on income assistance or disability assistance in British Columbia | Scooters if medically essential: up to $3,500 (conventional) or $4,500 (bariatric) | Prescription plus an OT or physiotherapist assessment, through the ministry |
| Veterans Affairs Canada (POC 13) | Eligible veterans and other qualified people | One power mobility item (electric wheelchair or scooter) for daily living needs | Contact Veterans Affairs Canada |
| Medical expense tax credit | Canadian taxpayers | Scooters and wheelchairs are eligible medical expenses | Claim on your tax return |
| GST/HST zero rate | Buyers of qualifying devices | No GST/HST on aids to locomotion specially designed for people with a disability | Applied by the supplier at sale |
Ontario: the Assistive Devices Program
Ontario’s ADP is the most generous scooter route in the country. To qualify you must live in Ontario, have a valid Ontario health card, and have a disability that requires a mobility aid for six months or longer. Ontario says it does not consider your income.
The programme covers manual wheelchairs, power wheelchairs and power scooters, along with power add-ons, positioning devices, forearm crutches and wheeled walkers. It does not cover all-terrain vehicles, most equipment rental, transport chairs, wheelchair lifts or wheelchair ramps.
How much it pays
The ADP-registered business bills the ADP directly for 75% of the cost and you pay the remaining 25%. The ADP sets the price a registered business can charge, and the business cannot charge you more than that price for the approved device. Extras that are not covered, such as batteries for power wheelchairs, are yours to pay. The ADP covers 100% if you get Ontario Works, the Ontario Disability Support Program or Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities.
How to apply
- Get assessed by an occupational therapist or physiotherapist registered with the ADP (you can email [email protected] for a list).
- Fill in the application form with the therapist.
- Choose an ADP-registered business, which submits the form electronically.
- Wait for a decision: Ontario aims to review applications within 8 weeks.
Do not buy first. Ontario warns that if you order or buy before these steps are complete, you pay the full cost. You cannot get ADP help for the same aid if you already qualify through the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, or as a Group “A” veteran through Veterans Affairs Canada.
Quebec: a loaned scooter, not RAMQ
Quebec splits scooters from wheelchairs. The RAMQ programme for devices that compensate for a physical deficiency pays for wheelchairs and other locomotor assists, obtained through an authorised public rehabilitation facility, but it lists three-wheel and four-wheel scooters as not covered and says they are handled by other government programmes.
That other programme is Quebec’s mobility scooter programme. It gives eligible people access to a loaner four-wheel scooter, or a three-wheel scooter in exceptional cases. To be eligible you must live in Quebec and either have a motor impairment causing a persistent and significant inability to walk less than 30 metres plus significant difficulty using a manual wheelchair over less than 150 metres, or a severe inability to walk about 30 metres because of a severe respiratory or cardiovascular impairment. You must also live at home or in a family-type residence and have a safe, accessible place to store the scooter.
There are no fees or deductibles. You must insure the scooter yourself and return it when you no longer use it. You are not eligible if you already have the same help from another programme or private insurer, or another government-provided mobility aid such as a wheelchair. To enrol, contact your territorial establishment with a certificate completed by a doctor or specialised nurse practitioner.
Alberta: power wheelchairs yes, scooters no
Alberta Aids to Daily Living funds basic medical equipment for Albertans with a long-term disability, chronic illness or terminal illness. Its list of benefits includes manual and power wheelchairs, walkers and wheelchair accessories. However, the AADL programme manual section on power wheelchair benefits includes scooters in its list of items that are not funded. If you need powered mobility in Alberta, talk to your authoriser about whether a power wheelchair fits your needs.
AADL is a cost-share programme: most clients pay 25% of the benefit cost up to a maximum of $500 per family per benefit year (1 July to 30 June). Low-income Albertans may be exempt. Alberta’s current income thresholds for exemption are $20,970 for a single person, $33,240 for a family with no children and $39,250 for a family with children, based on line 26000 of your latest tax return. People on programmes such as AISH should contact AADL about exemption.
British Columbia: help if you are on assistance
BC’s Ministry of Social Development funds medical equipment, including scooters, for people receiving income assistance or disability assistance. The ministry must be satisfied the scooter is medically essential to achieve or maintain basic mobility. The total cost of a conventional scooter and accessories must not exceed $3,500, or $4,500 for a bariatric scooter where a therapist confirms the need. An occupational therapist or physiotherapist must also confirm that you are unlikely to need a wheelchair in the five years after the assessment. Scooters mainly for recreation or sport are excluded, and all other available resources must be considered first. BC residents who are not on assistance should ask their health authority or occupational therapist what else is available locally.
Other provinces and territories
Every province and territory sets its own rules. Ask your family doctor or a community occupational therapist which provincial programme applies, whether scooters are included, and whether you must be assessed before buying. Buying first can cost you the funding.
Veterans Affairs Canada
VAC’s Program of Choice 13 policy covers equipment for eligible veterans. It says power mobility devices, meaning an electric wheelchair or scooter, are authorised mainly for activities of daily living, to compensate for loss of ability to walk, not as a replacement for vehicle transport. Only one power mobility item is approved per person, and you, a caregiver or another responsible person must be able to store and look after it. VAC pays the usual and customary cost of the approved item, and extra features are your responsibility. Equipment VAC buys becomes your property. Contact VAC to find out whether your coverage applies.
March of Dimes Canada
March of Dimes Canada runs Ontario’s Home and Vehicle Modification Program, which funds items such as modular ramps, stairlifts, door widening and repairs to eligible battery-operated equipment approved through the programme. It is useful for making a home work with a scooter, but it is not a scooter purchase fund, and it will not reimburse costs incurred before authorisation. We could not find a current March of Dimes page for its former assistive devices programme, so check with the charity directly.
Tax help
Medical expense tax credit
The Canada Revenue Agency’s list of eligible medical expenses includes scooters and wheelchairs, with no prescription needed for either. A power-operated chair is listed as eligible with a prescription. You claim the amount above the lower of 3% of net income or the fixed dollar threshold on the CRA page ($2,834 when checked).
GST/HST
CRA GST/HST Memorandum 4.2 says a supply of a chair, walker or similar aid to locomotion, including motive power and wheel assemblies, that is specially designed for use by an individual with a disability is zero-rated. Ask your supplier to confirm the tax treatment of your model. Provincial sales tax rules are separate.
Sources
- Mobility aids, Assistive Devices Program (ontario.ca)
- Mobility scooter program (quebec.ca)
- Devices that compensate for a physical deficiency (ramq.gouv.qc.ca)
- AADL benefits covered, and cost sharing of benefits (alberta.ca)
- Alberta Aids to Daily Living Program Manual Section WP, Power Wheelchair Benefits (ab.bluecross.ca)
- BCEA Policy and Procedure Manual: Medical Equipment and Devices (gov.bc.ca)
- Treatment Benefits Program of Choice 13 policy (veterans.gc.ca)
- HVMP: What We Fund (marchofdimes.ca)
- Lines 33099 and 33199: eligible medical expenses (canada.ca)
- GST/HST Memorandum 4.2, Medical and Assistive Devices (canada.ca)