Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program has grown so rapidly that practitioners are struggling to meet demand, with 2023 statistics showing euthanasia accounted for 4.7% of all deaths nationwide—second only to the Netherlands. In Quebec, the rate topped 7%, making it the highest in the world. The program’s expansion since legalization in 2016, and particularly since 2021 when eligibility extended beyond the terminally ill, has prompted mounting concerns over the nation’s moral and medical trajectory.
Government data shows MAID deaths have risen by double digits each year, though growth slowed to 16% in 2023 from a previous average of 31%. Critics warn the practice is moving beyond compassionate end-of-life care into the active promotion of death, with some patients seeking MAID for treatable conditions. Reports describe physicians offering euthanasia to individuals who merely expressed suicidal thoughts, blurring the lines between medical care and life-ending intervention.
An article in The Atlantic detailed a euthanasia conference in Vancouver, complete with seminars on termination techniques, entertainment, and tote bags. Some doctors described performing hundreds of procedures, likening euthanasia to childbirth as a “delivery”—except one delivers life, the other death. Attendees acknowledged the demand will surge again in 2027, when eligibility expands to those with mental illness. Legislators are already debating extending MAID to minors.
The normalization of euthanasia has shifted the political conversation from moral limits to “equity,” with proponents arguing that if some may choose death, all should have the same access. Critics, including the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, warn this could pressure vulnerable people—especially the disabled—into ending their lives for economic or social reasons.
MAID’s rapid acceptance has spawned new industries, from “MAID Houses” offering tranquil environments for patients to die in La-Z-Boy chairs, to startups designing personalized “MAID experiences” for families, including children. For many practitioners, availability remains the only brake on expansion, as a large share of doctors remain unwilling to participate in euthanasia despite political and cultural momentum.
