After 10 years of MAID, key report on mental illness expansion nears
As the 10th anniversary of MAID’s legalization approaches, a report — led by a parliamentary committee of senators and MPs — is set to be released on Wednesday, surrounding whether the country is ready to expand medical assistance in dying, or MAID, to people whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness.
That extension is set to happen in March 2027, after it was delayed three times by the previous Liberal government, the last time being in February 2024.
A spokesperson from Liberal MP Marcus Powlowski’s office stated to Global News that the report will be tabled in the House of Commons following the scheduled vote at 3 p.m. on Wednesday.
Powlowski is one of the chairs of the joint House of Commons and Senate committee that is analyzing the upcoming change and working on the report.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has previously said that he would not take a position yet on whether people with solely a mental illness should be able to access assisted dying.
“I like to take informed positions and I’ll wait for the report,” he said before a meeting of the Liberal caucus on Parliament Hill on May 6.
Out of 32 organizations and individuals contacted by the committee organizing the report, 25 stated they were not in support of MAID extending to mental illness as a sole condition, with some of those participants stating a delay in enactment would be best.
There was also only one included who had firsthand experience with MAID through a family member.
“I think the Senate has tried to capture diverse perspectives and full disclosure,” said Dr. Sanjeev Sockalingam, senior vice-president of education and chief medical officer at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). He also spoke to the committee regarding the report.
“What I’m anticipating is the synthesis of the various testimonies and consideration of data and reports to come to some final conclusion.”
On June 17, 2016, the Parliament of Canada passed federal legislation that allows eligible adults in Canada to request medical assistance in dying.
As it stands, there are two safeguard tracks in place for MAID; track one being for those whose natural deaths are reasonably foreseeable and track two being for those whose deaths are not.
On March 17, 2021, changes to the legislation took effect that:
- revised eligibility criteria for obtaining MAID and the process of assessment
- changed existing safeguards for eligible people whose natural death is considered reasonably foreseeable
- expanded the framework for federal data collection and reporting
The revised law also contains new safeguards for eligible people who request medical assistance in dying and whose death is not considered reasonably foreseeable.
According to the sixth annual report on MAID in Canada, which was released by Health Canada in November 2025, there have been 76,475 people who received assistance in dying in Canada since the legalization of MAID.
In 2024, more than 95 per cent of those who received MAID had a terminal illness, most often cancer.
While the total number of MAID provisions increased in 2024, the year-over-year growth rate decreased. MAID was provided to 16,499 individuals in 2024, representing an increase of 6.9 per cent from 2023.
In addition, the rate of growth has decreased from 33.3 per cent between 2022 and 2023 to 17.1 per cent between 2023 and 2024, but the report states that “it will take several more years before long-term trends can be conclusively identified.”
“I think we reflect on the fact that it’s been 10 years — this was a huge step for Canada in terms of recognizing that having dignity and death and the ability to choose your death was as important and fundamental as having choice in life,” said Helen Long, CEO of Dying With Dignity.
“We know that more and more people across Canada are aware of MAID and are choosing to have MAID. People who have had an experience with MAID are very positive. They talk about how it’s helped them to end their suffering. To choose the death they wanted.”
Currently, Quebec is ranked as having the highest MAID rate in the world. Medically assisted deaths made up a record 7.9 per cent of all deaths in Quebec, or 6,268 cases, in 2024-2025. Across Canada, the rate was 5.1 per cent, or 16,499.
It is not clear how the growing number of Quebecers who resort to MAID reflects a broad consensus in the province, or if it’s a result of poor access to care that forces patients to turn to that option.
“Quebec has always taken a bit of a lead on end-of-life care in general, they have a long history of consulting with their citizens and making laws around end of life that reflect what people in Quebec want,” said Long.
“They’ve been a little ahead, I think, of the rest of us, so you know, time for us to catch up and ensure that everyone is able to make the choice they want.”
On March 18, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s government passed legislation to restrict MAID to people whose deaths are “likely to happen within 12 months,” among other changes.
“I think that we’re failing in our duty to give people hope,” Smith told reporters before the bill was introduced in the House.
Those under 18 would still be prohibited regardless of condition, in line with current federal rules.
Additionally, the United Nations criticized Canada’s expansion of MAID in March 2025, calling on the country to repeal track two for those whose deaths are not reasonably foreseeable, alongside objecting to the expansion on mental illness, mature minors and advance directives.
The UN also urged Canada to establish an oversight mechanism for independent monitoring and to handle complaints.
Canada was also called on to invest in and implement comprehensive measures to address systemic factors relating to social detriments of health, including poverty relief, homelessness prevention and community-based mental health support.
An Angus Reid Institute poll released on June 1 found that nearly four out of five Canadians (77 per cent) “continue to support the original 2016 MAID criteria.”
However, the survey showed that 56 per cent of respondents did not know about the scheduled expansion of mental illness as a sole condition for MAID before completing the survey.
The survey also found that just 37 per cent of Canadians had been following the issue.
Despite this, opinions surrounding the topic remain divided. From those aware of the 2027 expansion, 46 per cent said they support it, while 44 per cent are opposed. For those who had been previously unaware of the expansion, 42 per cent said they support it and 37 per cent are opposed.
“I think we need an investment in mental health research and addictions research as well to better understand the ability to predict and prognosticate whether someone is going to respond to certain treatments and their illness course,” said Sockalingam.
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