Medically-assisted dying in Canada reached record high in 2023, about 1 in 20 deaths

Medically-assisted dying in Canada, which is legal in that country in some circumstances, reached a record high last year, accounting for about 1 in 20 deaths, government data shows. 

According to the data, released Wednesday by Health Canada, about 4.7% of Canadians who died in 2023 received MAID, or Medical Assistance in Dying.

This is a 15.8% increase compared to 2022, but overall the upward trend is slowing, according to the data. From 2019 to 2022, the average growth rate was 31%.

Health Canada defines MAID as a “health service that allows someone who is found to be eligible to receive assistance from a medical practitioner to end their life.”

To be eligible, individuals must fit a list of criteria, including being at least 18 years old, mentally competent and have a “grievous and irremediable medical condition.”

A majority of the 2023 cases, about 96%, involved individuals who had one of these conditions and were assessed as having a natural death that was “reasonably foreseeable.”

Of the 19,660 MAID requests received in 2023, about 15,343 people received it. Some died before receiving MAID (about 2,906 people); others were deemed ineligible (915) and some withdrew their request (496).

The data was part of the country’s fifth annual report on medically-assisted dying, which for the first time also looked at the racial, ethnic or cultural identity of MAID recipients. The report found the majority of recipients identified as Caucasian or White (95.8%) and the second most identified as East Asian (1.8%).

Canada is among a few other countries, including Australia, Austria, New Zealand and Spain, that have assisted dying laws. In the U.S., assisted dying is legal in 10 states and the District of Columbia.

Earlier this month, the U.K. passed a first vote in a bill that would allow assisted dying for the terminally ill.