Since Canada expanded MAID eligibility in 2021 to include non-terminally-ill and disabled individuals, assisted suicide deaths in these groups have surged.
Newsroom (18/09/2025, Gaudium Press ) A recent report by Cardus Health reveals that Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program has led to disproportionately high rates of premature deaths among vulnerable populations, raising concerns about the effectiveness of safeguards intended to protect them. The report, titled “In Contrast to Carter: Assisted Dying’s Impact on Canadians with Disabilities,” evaluates whether the expectations set by the landmark 2012 Carter v. Canada Supreme Court decision are being met.
The Carter ruling paved the way for legalized physician-assisted dying in Canada, asserting that a carefully regulated program would not disproportionately harm vulnerable groups, such as those with disabilities, mental health conditions, or social isolation. The court emphasized safeguards, including rigorous physician reviews to ensure MAID would primarily serve terminally ill patients and protect those who might feel like a burden or suffer from neurological conditions or depression.
However, the Cardus report, drawing on data from Health Canada, Quebec’s independent end-of-life monitoring authority, the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario, and peer-reviewed studies, concludes that these safeguards have “failed to materialize.” Since Canada expanded MAID eligibility in 2021 to include non-terminally-ill and disabled individuals, assisted suicide deaths in these groups have surged. In 2021, 223 non-terminally-ill individuals died by MAID, rising to 463 in 2022 and 622 in 2023.
The report highlights a stark disparity for people with disabilities. From 2019 to 2023, at least 42% of all MAID deaths involved individuals requiring disability services. Among them, over 1,017 people who needed but did not receive these services died by assisted suicide. The number of MAID deaths among those who received disability services also climbed steadily, from 2,223 in 2019 to 5,181 in 2023. For those who required but lacked such services, the figures grew from 87 in 2019 to 432 in 2023.
Mental health conditions further complicate the picture. A Toronto care center study from 2016 to 2019 found that 39% of 155 MAID applicants had psychiatric comorbidities, with depression being the most common. In 2023, 45.3% of MAID recipients reported feeling like a burden to family, friends, or caregivers—a 10% increase from 2022. Additionally, 22% cited isolation and loneliness as sources of suffering, up 5% from the previous year.
Neurological disorders, including dementia, also feature prominently in MAID statistics. In 2023, nearly 15% of MAID deaths involved a neurological condition as a qualifying illness, with numbers rising from 589 in 2019 to 2,279 in 2023. Of those, 241 individuals with dementia died by MAID in 2023, with dementia as the sole condition in 106 cases.
The report notes that Canada’s planned expansion of MAID eligibility to include individuals with mental illness alone, set for 2027, is likely to further increase assisted deaths among non-terminally-ill populations. Cardus Health, which advocates for systems supporting natural death, argues that the data signals a failure to uphold the protections promised in the Carter decision, leaving vulnerable groups at heightened risk.
As Canada grapples with these findings, the report underscores the need for renewed scrutiny of MAID’s implementation to ensure it aligns with its original intent: a safeguarded program that does not disproportionately affect society’s most vulnerable.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from CNA
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