Number of medically assisted deaths in Canada from 2016 to 2022

In 2022, there were 13,241 medically assisted deaths in Canada. Medical assistance in dying (MAID) became legal in Canada in June 2016, and since then, cases of MAID have increased every year. To be eligible for MAID, one must meet specific criteria and only a medical practitioner can assess for and provide MAID.

How is medical assistance in dying carried out?

In Canada, there are two methods of MAID available. One is clinician-assisted medical assistance in dying, in which a physician or nurse practitioner directly administers a substance to the patient which causes death. The second method is self-administered medical assistance in dying, in which a medical practitioner provides the patient with a drug that they take themselves to cause death. As of 2022, around 68 percent of medically assisted death practitioners in Canada were in family medicine, while nine percent were nurse practitioners and eight percent in palliative medicine.

Why do people choose medical assistance in dying?

One important criterion to be eligible for MAID in Canada is that one must have a grievous and irremediable medical condition. In 2022, around 63 percent of those who received MAID had cancer, while 19 percent suffered from a cardiovascular condition. Furthermore, 86 percent of those who received MAID in 2022 had lost the ability to engage in meaningful activities and 82 percent could no longer perform activities of daily living. The elderly account for the majority of medically assisted deaths in Canada, and in most cases, natural death is reasonably foreseeable.