The Disability Changemaker of the Year Award celebrates the achievements of leading innovators and advocates from the disability community who are making real change happen across Canada.
The award is presented annually to an individual or group of individuals with lived experience whose personal and/or professional efforts are making an exceptional difference in the areas of disability awareness, action, and advocacy for an inclusive, barrier-free society.
Eligibility Criteria
- Canadian resident(s), 18+
- Lived experience of disability
- Demonstrated impact at a national level in 2023-2024 in awareness, action and advocacy for an inclusive, barrier-free society
- Note: MODC staff are ineligible for this award
Disability Changemaker of the Year Award Past Winners
Congratulations to
the Disability Changemaker of the Year Award winners. All the winners were celebrated at MODC’s annual signature gala, The Changemakers Supper Club, held in Toronto.
2024 Disability Changemaker of the Year
Lorin MacDonald
Lorin has been a trailblazer in pursuit of greater accessibility and inclusion for people with disabilities for decades. A human rights lawyer by trade, she champions equity in both her professional and volunteer work.
Lorin’s keen sense and passion for all things accessibility are informed by her lived experience as a woman born with profound hearing loss.
Widely regarded as one of Canada’s leading disability advocates, Lorin is highly respected within the human rights legal community and is unwavering in her mission to raise awareness about disability and accessibility issues.
As a speaker, trainer, writer, and consultant, Lorin has helped amplify the voices of people with disabilities. She's also developed the Disability Law curriculum for the Lincoln Alexander School of Law at Toronto Metropolitan University, where she proudly teaches future leaders with disabilities and their allies.
Lorin’s groundbreaking contributions have earned her numerous accolades, including being named among the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in the Human Rights category, the Law Society of Ontario Medal for her exceptional efforts in making the legal profession more accessible and inclusive, and being inducted into both the Canadian Disability Hall of Fame and the Order of Ontario. She was also included in Diversability’s D-30 Disability Impact List as the sole Canadian among 30 global disability leaders.
In 2023, Lorin received the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case, recognizing her work advancing gender equality. She’s particularly proud to receive legacy awards honouring two men she admires greatly: the David C. Onley Award for Leadership in Accessibility (Role Model) and the Jim Flaherty Award for Leadership in Accessibility and Inclusion.
2023 Disability Changemaker of the Year Award Winner
– The Honorable Carla Qualtrough
The Honourable Carla Qualtrough has been a source of inspiration and strong advocate for change for people with disabilities across Canada.
First elected in 2015 as the Member of Parliament for Delta, Minister Qualtrough is the first Paralympian to be elected to the House of Commons. Since 2015, she has served in several portfolios as a federal Cabinet Minister including as Minister of Sport and first ever Minister of Persons with Disabilities from 2015 to 2017, Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility from 2017 to 2019, where she passed the Accessible Canada Act, and Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion from 2019 to 2023, where she launched Canada’s first- ever Canada Disability Inclusion Action Plan and proudly passed Canada’s first-ever Disability Benefit Act. Minister Qualtrough now serves as Canada’s Minister of Sport and Physical Activity.
Minister Qualtrough has been legally blind since birth and is a passionate advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities. As a mother, lawyer, dedicated volunteer, and Paralympic swimmer, she is committed to addressing inequality and championing diversity.
2022 Disability Changemaker of the Year Award Winner
– Maayan Ziv
Maayan Ziv is a Toronto-based photographer, activist, and entrepreneur living with muscular dystrophy. Her innovative crowdsourced app, AccessNow, helps people with disabilities around the world find accessible public spaces and was created in response to her own experiences navigating society in a wheelchair. Maayan is one of Canada’s Top 40 under 40, and the recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, the City of Toronto Access Award, and the David C. Onley Leadership in Accessibility Award.
