Leisure Access Program: Free Activities For Low Income Families in Edmonton, AB

What is the Leisure Access Program? Are you a low-income individual or family?

Have you been looking for free City of Edmonton recreation or attraction passes – like the Edmonton Valley Zoo, the Muttart Conservatory, and Fort Edmonton Park?

As a family with or without children, you may qualify for the Edmonton Leisure Access program! Keep reading for all the answers to the questions around who qualifies and how to apply for this awesome City of Edmonton program!

** this post has been updated with 2019 income adjustments, you can find the chart below**

We love the zoo, and I cannot believe it took our growing family 4 years to find this program through word of mouth! Matt has been in university for longer than 4 years as a full-time student, but we became eligible for this wonderful City of Edmonton program the day Annaliese was born.

So please, if you know of someone who could benefit from this knowledge share it with them! You’ll be blessing them with an amazing resource for their family.

What is the City of Edmonton Leisure Access Program?

For families or people who qualify for low-income status you can apply to the City of Edmonton for their Leisure Access Program to gain access to the city’s attractions for free.

To be eligible for the Leisure Access Program (LAP) depends on your yearly income and the number of people in your household (that includes adults and children under 18).

What is include in the LAP?

unlimited, free admission to City of Edmonton recreation facilities and attractions

- 75% off of 3 registered adult programs

- 75% off of 4 registered child programs, hello swimming lessons!

- access to 24 free visits to the Reuse Centre per year

access to 1 bucket of balls per day at Victoria Driving Range

** check the City of Edmonton website for the rules and regulations of booking tee times for the driving range

Who is eligible for the LAP?

if you are on AISH (Assured Income of the Severe Handicap)
if you are a new immigrant or refugee (to qualify you must have resided in Canada for less than 1 year and have not filed a tax return)
if you are a child under government care
your household income (the sum of your and your spouse’s line 150 on your most recent Income Tax Notice) is equal to or less than the following:

Who does not qualify?

- full-time post secondary students who do not have children

those who have a higher income than the LAP range shown above

The process is simple but takes a while for the City of Edmonton to process so the sooner you mail in your application correctly (they will send it back if you don’t have all the information they need) the better!

Our passes took about 3-4 weeks to arrive, but it was worth the wait!

How do you apply for the Leisure Access Program?

Print out the Leisure Access Program Application and Renewal Form. If you do not have access to a printer, you can call 311 and they will have one mailed to you. Or you can pick up the application form at one of these locations.

2. Fill out the form and include the additional verification documents needed for the application – income verification ( ex. print out of your tax return that includes line 150), address verification (ex. print out a phone bill with your current address), eligible dependants verification (ex. print out your Child Tax Benefit, make sure it includes your name and the name of your children on the same page).

3. Mail everything to the address:

Leisure Access Program

PO Box 2359

Edmonton, AB

T5J 2R7