Apr 15, 2026
Protecting Canadians with Mental Illness
Is Canada a country that prevents suicide, or enables it?
Some Parliamentarians seem to be unsure, as they again consider whether to allow euthanasia for those with mental illness as their only condition. In 2023 and again in 2024, our government acknowledged that Canada was not ready to euthanize the mentally ill. As a result, the government delayed the scheduled expansion of euthanasia.
Now the Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying is studying the issue again with the expansion less than a year away. You can read ARPA Canada’s written submission to that Committee here. At the same time, Bill C-218 seeks to repeal the scheduled expansion of euthanasia to those with mental illness and will be voted on in the upcoming months.
Problems with Euthanasia for Mental Illness
Various medical professionals and psychiatrists consistently argue that mental illness can never be considered irremediable. Instead, they cannot accurately predict who will and who will not recover from their mental illness. At the same time, there is no clear way to distinguish between a request for MAiD and suicidality. As psychiatry professor Sonu Gaind has noted, “On the face of it, even if you look at what the word means, when somebody wants to die and they’re not dying, of course that means that they’re suicidal.”
Canada was not ready for the expansion of euthanasia in 2023 or 2024. But the problems have not disappeared or been resolved. This time, Parliament must get it right and repeal the expansion entirely. Canada will never be ready to offer euthanasia for mental illness.
Such an expansion normalizes death as a “solution” for mental illness. It tells people their life is not worth living, undermining suicide prevention efforts, and encouraging despair for those who are suffering.
National and International Criticism
Jurisdictions around the world are questioning aspects of euthanasia because of Canada’s example. Already in 2023, Quebec explicitly prohibited MAID for mental illness. Alberta is about to follow suit, limiting MAID to those whose prognosis for natural death is within 12 months and implementing a variety of other safeguards.
In 2025, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities condemned Canada’s euthanasia regime. The Committee called on Canada to repeal euthanasia for people who are not dying, and to refuse to expand euthanasia to those with mental illness.
A bill that would legalize euthanasia for terminally-ill patients was recently defeated in the Scottish Parliament. Another bill in England will likely fail in the House of Lords. In both cases, politicians paid close attention to the Canadian context.
Meanwhile, our government still plans to expand MAID to mental illness on March 17, 2027.
We know where this can lead. The Netherlands legalized psychiatric euthanasia in 2002. For a decade, there were only one or two deaths per year due to psychiatric euthanasia. Pro-euthanasia advocates have used the Dutch example to say that MAID for mental illness will result in very few deaths for those with mental illness. However, the Netherlands has experienced rapid growth in psychiatric euthanasia cases in recent years, with 219 deaths in 2024. Notably, unlike the Netherlands, Canada has no requirement that the doctor and patient agree there are no reasonable alternatives.
Euthanasia for Mental Illness in Canada
Although euthanasia for those with mental illness as their only condition is not yet legal, euthanasia for mental illness is already happening in Canada. If a person has a mental illness and a physical disability or illness, they can be euthanized without attempts to resolve their mental illness.
In one case documented by Ontario’s MAID Death Review Committee, a man with inflammatory bowel disease was unable to get the support programs and services he requested. He had a history of mental illness, suicidality, and alcohol and drug abuse. His psychiatrist raised the option of euthanasia, and he was driven to his euthanasia appointment by the doctor who ultimately ended his life.
Already, nearly half of all Canadians who die by MAID believe they are a burden on family, friends, or caregivers. Over 20% suffer from isolation or loneliness. Those are not medical conditions; they are social challenges that require care and support.
Canadians with mental illness don’t need help to die. Instead, they need help to live well. Rather than promoting life-affirming care and suicide prevention, Canada has rapidly expanded euthanasia, while keeping laws vague, and failing to provide adequate oversight of medical professionals.
As a result, just 10 years after legalization, Canada is set to reach a total of 100,000 euthanasia deaths. To put that in context, consider the state of California, a jurisdiction with a similar population to Canada. California legalized assisted suicide for terminally ill patients around the same time Canada legalized euthanasia. In 2024, 1,032 Californians died by assisted suicide, compared to over 16,000 in Canada. Between 2016 and 2024, nearly five and a half thousand Californians died by assisted suicide. In Canada, the number of euthanasia deaths in that timeframe is 75,000.
Conclusion
As Parliament approaches a vote on Bill C-218, Canadians have an important opportunity to slow the rapid growth and expansion of euthanasia in Canada. Send an email to your Member of Parliament, asking them to support Bill C-218 and help protect Canadians with mental illness.
