Canada’s Assisted Suicide Law Has Gone Too Far
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90 Disability and Mental Health Organizations Oppose Expansion of MAiD for Mental Illness
May 25, 2026
Ottawa, ON — A group of more than 90 disability and mental health organizations from all provinces and territories are calling on Parliament to permanently halt the planned expansion of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) scheduled to take effect on March 17, 2027.
The groups have sent an open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, Justice Minister and Attorney General Sean Fraser, and Health Minister Marjorie Michel. The letter was copied to the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying (AMAD) comprised of MPs and Senators. The committee is currently studying whether to expand MAiD for people whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness. It is poised to file a report before the parliamentary summer break.
The organizations are calling for the government to repeal the section of Canada’s MAiD law that establishes a timeline for legalization, commonly referred to as the “sunset clause.” Acting on this recommendation would result in a permanent exclusion of mental illness as a sole underlying condition for MAiD.
Mental health-related disability is among the fastest growing disabilities in Canada. One in three Canadians will meet the criteria for a mental disorder during their lifetime, and suicidality is associated with many of these diagnoses.
Inclusion Canada is one of the national organizations that have mobilized in this collective effort. CEO Krista Carr says the federal government should improve the lives of citizens – not end them. It can do so through better income supports, safe and accessible inclusive housing, accessible mental health care, employment and other community-based services to allow people to live with dignity.
“People with disabilities and mental illness who face poverty, housing insecurity, social isolation, and barriers to timely health care need help and hope — not MAiD,” said Carr.
Growing Concerns About Track 2 MAiD
The organizations point to growing evidence that marginalized Canadians are disproportionately represented among those currently accessing the second pathway of MAiD.
Known as Track 2 MAiD, this pathway is available to people with disabilities whose natural death is not reasonably foreseeable. Most recent federal data reveal six out of 10 people who died as a result of Track 2 MAiD were women. Many were also reported as living in low-income neighbourhoods, residing in long-term care, experiencing isolation or loneliness, perceiving themselves to be a burden, facing housing instability, or requiring psychosocial supports.
People with Mental Illness can already qualify for MAiD
Under the current law, people living with mental illness may already qualify for MAiD if they have a co-occurring illness, disease, or disability and meet existing eligibility requirements. Expanding the law further to include mental illness as the sole underlying condition would make assisted suicide available to people who are not near end of life and need not have a co-occurring physical condition.
The organizations warn this would represent “a significant and misguided expansion” of Canada’s assisted suicide regime. Experts have cautioned that, in practice, the definition of “mental illness” could encompass a broad range of mental disorders.
“While some argue that MAiD is distinct from suicide, Health Canada defines suicide as ‘the intentional act of ending one’s life,’” the organizations state in their letter. “MAiD for mental illness clearly falls under this umbrella.”
“Families across Canada are deeply worried about what this expansion would mean for people already struggling to access adequate mental health care, housing, income supports and community services,” said Moira Wilson, President of Inclusion Canada. “At a time when so many people are asking for help to live with dignity, Canada should not be expanding access to assisted death for those experiencing mental illness.”
Facts
From 2021 to 2024, 2,050 Canadians have died from through Track 2 MAiD, where their death was not reasonably foreseeable.
In its 2025 Concluding Observations on Canada, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities called on Canada to repeal Track 2 MAiD, halt the planned expansion to mental illness and bring its MAiD regime into compliance with Canada’s obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
Inclusion Canada and three other national disability organizations along with two individual plaintiffs, launched a charter challenge in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice asking that Track 2 MAiD be struck down.
About Inclusion Canada
Inclusion Canada is the national federation of 13 provincial/territorial member organizations and over 300 local associations working to advance the full inclusion and human rights of people with intellectual disabilities and their families. Inclusion Canada drives social change by strengthening families, defending rights, and transforming communities into places where everyone belongs.
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