GC Design System Accessibility
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Accessibility testing tools

Modern testing for modern components

Older testing tools and practices may not work properly with modern components. Here’s how to make sure your digital product is accessible:

  1. Use our modern web components that we've tested.
  2. Follow the accessibility guidance on our component pages.
  3. Test your digital product in your context to make sure it’s clear and works for people using assistive technology.

Testing tools

If you want to do your own testing, here are some tools and processes you can use to get better coverage for your website or app.

These tools are not provided or endorsed by the Government of Canada. Reference our Terms of use when interacting with websites not under the control of Government of Canada.

Automated tools

Use automated tools to detect common accessibility issues.

Code

  • Axe DevTools
  • Google Lighthouse
  • Pa11y CLI
  • Firefox Accessibility Inspector

  • Axe-core by itself, or with a browser automation framework like:

    • Playwright
    • Puppeteer

Figma

  • Stark contrast and accessibility checker

Code

  • Axe DevTools Pro
  • Siteimprove
  • Level Access

Accessibility tree

Use the accessibility tree for debugging web accessibility issues. It shows a simplified version of the DOM that screen readers and assistive technologies use to interpret content.

Here’s how to access the accessibility tree in different browsers:

  1. Open developer tools using ctrl+shift+i on PC or cmd+option+i on Mac.
  2. Select the elements tab.
  3. Select the accessibility panel.
    • If you don’t see it, select more (⋮) and then accessibility.
  1. Open developer tools using ctrl+shift+i on PC or cmd+option+i on Mac.
  2. Select the inspector tab.
  3. Select an element in the HTML structure.
  4. Select accessibility.
    • If you don’t see the it, select the three-dot menu (...) in the DevTools toolbar and then settings.
    • Under default developer tools, enable accessibility panel.
  1. Open developer tools using ctrl+shift+i on PC or cmd+option+i on Mac.
  2. Select the elements tab.
  3. Select the accessibility panel.
  1. Enable the developer menu.
    • Select Safari from the top menu, then settings, then advanced.
    • Check the show features for web developers box. It’s now enabled.
  2. Open inspector using option+command+i.
  3. Select the audit tab.
  4. Select an element and go to the accessibility section in the sidebar.

Usability assessments and testing

It’s important to test with people with disabilities to make sure your digital product is accessible. You can do this by using a government service to assess your product, recruiting people with disabilities yourself for research, or using paid services that will do that for you.

  • Digital accessibility toolkit
  • Fable

Contact us

If you have any questions about or run into barriers when doing additional accessibility testing for GC Design System, contact us.

2026-04-01