Canada recorded 16,499 medically assisted deaths in 2024, accounting for just over five per cent of all deaths nationwide, according to the federal government’s latest annual review. The figures from Health Canada show the program’s continued expansion, though the yearly increase slowed compared with earlier spikes.

Most people who received medical assistance in dying had an illness where death was considered reasonably foreseeable, typically advanced cancers or progressive neurological disorders. The median age of recipients was about 78, with common underlying conditions including lung, colorectal, pancreatic and blood cancers. Loss of independence, persistent pain and the inability to perform daily tasks were frequently cited as sources of suffering.

The debate around MAID has intensified as the federal government’s legislative framework now permits people whose natural death is not imminent to request the procedure if they meet medical criteria such as a serious illness or disability, irreversible decline and suffering that cannot be eased under conditions acceptable to the individual.

A central dispute involves whether mental illness alone should eventually qualify. Parliament originally set a temporary exclusion for conditions where mental illness is the sole underlying issue and later extended that exclusion to 2027, citing concerns about the difficulty of determining when such illnesses are irreversible.

The policy discussion has widened as reports emerged of vulnerable Canadians being offered MAID during interactions with government agencies, including veterans who approached Veterans Affairs Canada for support. A federal review found instances where MAID was raised inappropriately, prompting public concern about whether the program is being presented to people in distress who are seeking assistance, not death.

Advocates for people with disabilities and mental-health experts warn that expanding eligibility without stronger social support risks creating situations where Canadians consider ending their lives due to inadequate care, poverty or isolation rather than untreatable illness. Others view the expansion as recognition that severe psychological or functional suffering can be as debilitating as physical decline.

With more than 22,500 formal requests filed in 2024 and continued discussion about future eligibility for mental illness, children with complex conditions and other groups facing profound hardship, the national conversation about assisted dying is shifting beyond end-stage disease.