Our Story

The story of Abilities Centre begins with a vision and a question: what would it look like if people of all ages and abilities truly had a place to belong, to grow, and to reach their full potential?

In the early 2000s, a group of accessibility and inclusion champions in Durham Region began asking that question. Inspired by the vision of the late Honourable Jim Flaherty and the Honourable Christine Elliott, they saw the urgent and unmet need for programming and services for people with disabilities in Durham Region and across Canada. Their dream was to create something that had never been done before: a fully accessible, inclusive community hub that would serve as a replicable model for communities across Canada and around the world.

That dream took years of dedication, advocacy, and partnership to bring to life. In collaboration with federal and provincial governments, the Region of Durham, and the Town of Whitby, and supported by the generosity of individuals, corporations, and community organizations from across the country, Abilities Centre opened its doors in Whitby, Ontario in June 2012.

More than a decade later, the vision has grown into something remarkable. Abilities Centre now serves more than 100,000 visitors each year and delivers a wide range of skills development, employment, therapeutic recreation, sport and recreation, and training and education programs and services across Ontario and Canada. We work alongside individuals with lived experience, participants, and local, provincial, and national partners to implement and scale evidence-driven programs and services that create real, measurable change.

Through innovative collaboration, our program and research teams have developed, tested, and refined approaches that measure the transformative impact we are having on the individuals and communities we serve. Abilities Centre is not just a facility. It is a living, growing proof of what becomes possible when a community chooses to include everyone.