Accessibility compliance guides · Canada

Accessibility for Manitobans Act website requirements

Manitoba has one of the broadest enforceable web standards in Canada. Since May 1, 2025, the Accessible Information and Communication Standard applies to private businesses with even one employee.

Technical standard: WCAG 2.1 Level AA
Private-sector date: May 1, 2025 — already in force
Who: Organizations with one or more employees, not only large employers

What it is

The Accessibility for Manitobans Act was enacted in 2013. The website duty sits in the Accessible Information and Communication Standard Regulation (M.R. 47/2022). It names WCAG 2.1 Level AA.

Web content must meet that level when it was published on or after the date the standard applied to your organization, when people need it to access your goods or services (product pages, menus, booking, pricing, checkout — regardless of publish date), or when you launch a new web application or significantly update one.

Public sector organizations, educational institutions, and libraries must also make intranet content conform. Beyond the site, organizations provide information in accessible formats on request, use accessible communication practices, and train employees and volunteers who communicate with the public.

This is wider than Ontario. The AODA website rule stops at public sector and organizations with 50 or more employees. Manitoba’s rule reaches a shop with a single employee.

Who needs to comply

The phase-in is finished. If you employ anyone in Manitoba, assume the standard applies.

Manitoba government. In scope since May 1, 2023.
Public sector, health, large municipalities, libraries, and education. In scope since May 1, 2024, including intranet content for public sector, educational institutions, and libraries.
Everyone else with at least one employee. Since May 1, 2025: private businesses, non-profits, charities, places of worship, and small municipalities.

Timeline

All three phases are in the past.

May 1, 2023. Manitoba government.
May 1, 2024. Broader public sector, Crown corporations, health authorities, large municipalities, libraries, and educational institutions.
May 1, 2025. All other organizations with one or more employees.

What the rule requires

Not every old PDF is in scope. The pages people need in order to buy, book, or apply are.

WCAG 2.1 AA. The regulation names this level. We test 2.2 AA on top when you also serve markets that have moved on.
Content required to access goods or services. In scope even if it was published years ago. A booking form from 2019 is not “legacy” if customers still need it.
New and significantly updated web apps. A redesign or a major release pulls the application into the standard.
Training and alternate formats. Staff who communicate with the public need to know how to respond, and information has to be available in an accessible format on request.

How we help

We audit Manitoba sites against WCAG 2.1 AA and fix the content people need in order to get the service.

A scope decision you can stand behind: what was published after your deadline, what is required to access goods or services, and which apps were significantly updated.
Remediation of those pages first, so the legal scope and the user journey are the same list.
Manual testing with NVDA, JAWS, and VoiceOver, plus keyboard-only use and browser zoom. The failures these rules care about are often invisible to an automated scan.
Remediation in your production code by our developers, so the fix lives in the product and not only in a report.
An accessibility statement and, where a buyer or regulator expects one, a VPAT-based Accessibility Conformance Report grounded in the audit.
Training for the people who publish pages, documents, and campaigns after the audit.
A retest after major releases, so a later deploy does not quietly undo the work.

Web accessibility audit and remediation

Our process

Confirm what applies to you. We identify which phase applied to you and which pages are in scope because of their date, because they gate a service, or because the app was significantly updated.
Audit the live experience. We review the pages, flows, documents, and apps people actually use, with assistive technologies as well as automated checks, and map each finding to the standard this rule points to.
Fix the barriers that block access. Our developers remediate structure, keyboard access, forms, contrast, names, and media in your codebase, starting with the journeys that gate a service.
Document what was tested. You receive the findings, what we fixed, and the statement or conformance report your team, counsel, or procurement office needs on file.
Keep it from slipping. We train publishers and retest after significant releases so new content does not reopen the same gaps.

Longer background: Manitoba web accessibility law.

Frequently asked questions

We have one employee. Are we covered?

Yes, as of May 1, 2025, if that employee is part of an organization the standard reaches. Manitoba did not copy Ontario’s 50-employee threshold.

Do we have to remediate the entire archive?

Content required to access goods or services is in scope regardless of age. Other content is in scope if it was published on or after your organization’s date, or if it sits in a new or significantly updated web application. We help you draw that line before we start fixing.

Does the intranet count?

For public sector organizations, educational institutions, and libraries, yes. Private businesses should focus first on public content people need to obtain the service.

What if we also have customers in Ontario or the U.S.?

One WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA remediation covers Manitoba, satisfies Ontario’s older 2.0 AA floor, and lines up with ADA Title II. We map the audit to each regime you actually face.

Related guides

This page is general information from Peradeo Technologies Inc., not legal advice.

Talk with us about this requirement · hello@peradeo.com · +1 (306) 216-9934