These limitations can be due to a physical, developmental, cognitive or mental health condition.
Disabilities can be present at birth or as the result of a specific event, such as a car accident.
Diagnosis of a mental or physical illness can occur at any point in a person's life. For the purposes of the 1996 Census, Statistics Canada looked at persons with long-term disabilities or handicaps that limited the kind or amount of activity that a person could do. Statistics Canada's Low Income Cut-off, or LICO, measures the amount of money required to live and participate as a Canadian citizen. This series of fact sheets uses the LICO, which has been adjusted for community size. Statistics Canada, Low Income Cut- offs, Cat.