FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

25 May, 2026

Since their legalization in 2016, euthanasia and assisted suicide have become a leading cause of death in Canada, accounting for one in 20 deaths in 2024 and making Canada an international leader among countries where ‘medical assistance in dying (MAiD)’ is legal. But why has Canada seen its euthanasia and assisted suicide numbers climb so steadily?

A new research brief from Cardus – the first in a series of international comparison papers – examines the eligibility criteria for Canada’s program: who can receive an assisted death, and for what reasons. In looking internationally, Cardus researcher Dr. Rebecca Vachon finds Canada’s assisted dying eligibility criteria is much more permissive than that of Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. 

“The most significant difference in eligibility criteria across the jurisdictions is whether assisted dying is limited to those who are dying, or is available more generally to those who are suffering but not necessarily dying,” said Dr. Vachon, Program Director for Cardus Health. 

While Canada’s eligibility criteria are similar to those of Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg, what stands out in Canada’s program is that the suffering criteria is far more subjective. “The lack of definition in Canada of “reasonably foreseeable death” remains a concern,” continues Dr. Vachon, “and so do the provisions which state the patient must be the one to decide that the suffering is intolerable, and that the patient must only consider reasonable alternatives. Meanwhile, in Belgium and the Netherlands, physicians must assess the suffering, confirm it to be intolerable, and confirm that alternatives are lacking.”

Another key distinction between Canadian MAiD laws and those in countries like Belgium and the Netherlands is that MAiD is not available to minors in Canada, nor is it available to patients whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness. However, eligibility for Canadian patients whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness will come into effect in 2027 unless it is repealed or deferred once more. Canada’s program also features some regional discrepancies, including the recent additional limits on eligibility and an increase in safeguards which will come into effect in Alberta shortly following the passage of Bill 18. 

Future papers in this series will examine procedural safeguards for assisted death requests & assessments; procedural safeguards for receipt of an assisted death; and monitoring, compliance and enforcement for assisted dying.

MEDIA INQUIRIES

Rebecca Vachon
Cardus – Director, Health Program,
media@cardus.ca

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Cardus is a non-partisan think tank dedicated to clarifying and strengthening, through research and dialogue, the ways in which society’s institutions can work together for the common good.