Website accessibility compliance in Winnipeg

Winnipeg is Manitoba's capital and largest city, with a population of 749,607 (Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population). It is home to a wide range of organizations, from clinics and law offices to restaurants, retailers, contractors and charities. Our mailing address is in Winnipeg, and we work with organizations across the city remotely.

Since May 1, 2025, organizations with one or more employees in Manitoba have been covered by the Accessible Information and Communication Standard Regulation, Man. Reg. 47/2022 (s. 2(c) (opens in a new tab)). Web content published on or after that date, or needed to access an organization's goods or services, must meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA (s. 7(1) (opens in a new tab)).

Which organizations in Winnipeg are covered

The threshold is one employee in Manitoba. A family restaurant, a two-person accounting practice, a neighbourhood non-profit and a large employer are all covered. What changes with size is the paperwork: large employers must also document their accessibility measures and policies (s. 3(2) (opens in a new tab)) and a training policy (s. 4(4) (opens in a new tab)).

Older pages are not automatically exempt. If a page is needed to book, buy, apply or ask for help, it falls within s. 7(1) (opens in a new tab) regardless of when it was published.

Websites we see most often in Winnipeg

The Government of Canada's economic profile of the Winnipeg region lists health care and social assistance, retail trade and manufacturing as key sectors. Websites in those sectors, and in hospitality and professional services, tend to share predictable problems. The examples below are typical patterns, not findings about any particular organization.

• Clinics and health practices. Online booking calendars that only work with a mouse (2.1.1) and intake forms that rely on placeholder text instead of labels (1.3.1). See clinics and healthcare.
• Retailers. Product filters and "add to cart" buttons with no accessible name (4.1.2), and sale prices in low-contrast text (1.4.3). See retail.
• Restaurants. Menus posted as images or scanned PDFs (1.1.1) and ordering pages that do not reflow on a phone (1.4.10). See restaurants.
• Professional firms. Contact forms that show errors only as a red outline (3.3.1) and long documents without headings. See professional services.
• Non-profits. Donation and event registration forms that cannot be completed by keyboard, and videos without captions (1.2.2). See non-profits.

French-language content

Winnipeg has a long-established French-speaking community, and the City of Winnipeg itself provides services in both official languages under Part 9 of the City of Winnipeg Charter. If your website has French pages or passages, the language needs to be identified in the code (3.1.1 and 3.1.2) so that screen readers pronounce the text correctly. We test both language versions.

How we work with Winnipeg organizations

1. Remote audit. We test your key pages and tasks against all 50 WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria using automated scans, keyboard-only testing, NVDA, VoiceOver, 200% zoom and 320 CSS px reflow.
2. Phone consultation. We walk you through the findings by phone, with screen-share so you can see each issue.
3. Fixed written quote. You receive one price for the repairs. There is no hourly billing.
4. Repairs that keep your design. We fix code, labels, contrast and structure with the least visible change. We never install overlay widgets.
5. Compliance documentation. You receive the material the regulation calls for, including accessible formats notice wording (s. 5 (opens in a new tab)), a feedback process (s. 9 (opens in a new tab)) and training material (s. 4 (opens in a new tab)).

If anything we repaired is later found not to meet WCAG 2.1 AA, we correct it at no charge. See our services for details.

Last reviewed October 2026. General information, not legal advice.