Overview

The Soldiers’ Aid Commission provides financial assistance to Ontario’s eligible Veterans and their families in financial need. The Commission supplements support offered by the Royal Canadian Legion and Veterans Affairs Canada.

The Commission reports to the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services and is governed by the Soldiers’ Aid Commission Act, 2020 and regulations made under that Act . The Lieutenant Governor in Council appoints the members of the Commission. The Public Appointments Secretariat lists the appointed and vacant positions.

Eligibility

To be eligible to receive financial assistance from the Soldiers’ Aid Commission, you must:

  • be a Veteran or their eligible family member
  • be in financial need and
  • live in Ontario

A Veteran is: 

  • Any former member of the Canadian Armed Forces who has completed basic training and was released from service
  • Any person who served in any armed force of Canada or any Allied Force during World War I or World War II
  • Any person who served in any armed force of Canada during World War II and who was stationed in Canada or the United States
  • Any person who served in the Merchant Navy in a theatre of war during World War II
  • Any person who served in any armed force of Canada or any Allied Force and who served in a theatre of operations during the Korean War

Eligible family members

The following family members of an eligible Veteran may receive financial assistance from the Soldiers’ Aid Commission:

  • the spouse of a Veteran, including the surviving spouse of a deceased Veteran
  • the child of a Veteran or Veteran’s spouse who is financially dependent, including the child of a deceased Veteran or Veteran’s spouse

Defining financially dependent

To be a financially dependent child, you must be either:

  • under 18 years old
  • 18 to 25 years old and enrolled in a secondary school or taking at least a minimum course load at a postsecondary institution
  • 18 years old or older and unable to financially support yourself due to a disability

Defining minimum course load

A minimum course load is:

  • 60% of the postsecondary institution’s full course load if you do not have a disability
  • 40% of the postsecondary institution’s full course load if you do have a disability

Demonstrating financial need

To demonstrate financial need, you must show two requirements:

  • you have made a reasonable effort to access funds from other Veteran-specific programs
  • you cannot reasonably cover the cost of an eligible expense

To do this, you will need to provide supporting documentation as part of your application, such as proof of income or bank statements. When you apply for assistance, a service officer or agent can help you with your application, including supporting documents.

Amount of assistance you can receive

The Commission may provide up to $2,000 over a 12-month period per household.

If both spouses in a household are Veterans, each spouse is eligible for up to $2,000 in a 12-month period. However, each Veteran cannot make an application for the same expense.

If you receive social assistance, funding from the Soldiers’ Aid Commission is in addition to any financial assistance from Ontario Works or ODSP. It will not impact your eligibility for social assistance or the amount of your monthly payment.

Eligible expenses

The Commission will consider applications to support eligible recipients with financial assistance for essential expenses in the following categories:

  • housing-related items, modifications or repairs that support mobility, accessibility or health and safety
  • assistance to secure or maintain housing
  • specialized equipment and assistive devices to support mobility, accessibility or health and safety
  • health-related items and services to support physical and mental health
  • personal items, services and expenses to support basic needs
  • employment-related supports to remove barriers to employment or improve employability

Applying for assistance

Who may apply

The Commission accepts applications made by eligible Veterans and the following family members:

  • the spouse of a Veteran, including the surviving spouse of a deceased Veteran
  • the child of a Veteran or Veteran’s spouse if all the following are true
    • the Veteran and Veteran’s spouse are both deceased
    • the child is financially dependent and, in the case of a child who is financially dependent due to a disability, the disability initially occurred while the Veteran was still alive
    • the child was financially dependent on the Veteran at the time of the Veteran’s death

If you are an eligible recipient and you are under 18 years old, your parent or guardian must apply on your behalf. If you are an eligible Veteran or family member, but you are unable to apply due to a disability, an authorized person may apply on your behalf.

How to apply

You must apply through the Royal Canadian Legion or Veterans Affairs Canada. Their service officers and agents may help you access other support as well as assistance from the Commission. The Commission supplements support offered by these organizations.

Royal Canadian Legion - Ontario Command

To apply through the Royal Canadian Legion – Ontario Command, please contact them and ask a service officer to help you apply:

Veterans Affairs Canada

To apply through Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), please contact them to request service and benefits:

If you already have a VAC account, you can log in to your profile and follow the steps under “service and benefits.”

After you apply

The Royal Canadian Legion or Veterans Affairs Canada will forward your application to the Commission after you apply. The Commission will review your application. If your application is incomplete, you may be contacted to provide more information.

The Commission provides financial assistance at its discretion. Applying for this funding does not guarantee you will get it.

You will be notified once a decision is made on your application.

The Commission’s decisions on applications are final. You cannot appeal a decision.

Brief history of the Commission

The Lieutenant Governor established the Soldiers’ Aid Commission in 1915 through an Order in Council to help returning First World War Veterans and their families with problems they faced as they re-entered civilian life, such as finding work and housing.

Through the decades since its inception, the Commission has continuously supported Ontario’s Veterans and their families. Following the Second World War and the Korean War, the Commission expanded to provide supports and services to these returning Veterans and their families.

The Soldier’s Aid Commission Act, 2020 and accompanying regulations came into force on January 1, 2021. Through these modifications, eligibility for financial assistance from the Commission was further expanded to include all Ontario Veterans and their eligible family members regardless of where and when the Veteran served.

Ontario’s Soldiers’ Aid Commission: 100 Years of Assistance to Veterans in Need 1915-2015 provides more information about the Commission’s history.

Holding the Commission accountable

The Agencies and Appointments Directive and Travel, Meal and Hospitality Expenses Directive, require provincial agencies, such as the Soldiers’ Aid Commission, to publicly post their governance documents, including:

Open data

The Open Data Directive requires provincial agencies to post a public data inventory of all the data sets they create, collect and/or manage.

Data inventory

Expenses

This dataset contains monthly Commissioner expenses.

Contact: sac@ontario.ca, 416-327-4674 or visit our ministry’s contact page

Data: Expense information for Commissioners

Data available:

The data described here is available for you to use. Learn more.

See the licence for how you’re allowed to use this data.

Covers: 2015-January-01 - N/A
Last validated date: 1 December 2020
Update frequency: Quarterly

Meetings

The Commission meets regularly to review and make decisions on applications for assistance they receive.

Contact us

If you have questions or are searching for general information about the Soldiers’ Aid Commission, please contact us:

For more ways to reach us, including a toll-free phone number, teletypewriter (TTY) number, please visit our ministry’s contact page.