Now it’s 5% of Canada deaths

By the Editorial Team · Friday, September 25, 2026

In 2025, nearly one in ten deaths in certain Canadian regions, including 13.4% in Quebec’s Lanaudière area, were due to medical assistance in dying (MAiD), marking a continued rise since its legalization. This growing reliance on assisted death raises ethical concerns about its normalization in healthcare and signals demographic shifts affecting end-of-life decisions nationwide.

Medical assistance in dying (MAiD) accounted for nearly one in ten deaths in certain regions of Canada in 2025, official data reveal, reflecting a significant increase since the program’s introduction. In the Lanaudière region of Quebec, located north of Montreal, 13.4% of all deaths were attributed to MAiD last year, marking the highest rate nationally.

Across Quebec, Canada’s second most populous province with approximately 8.5 million residents, 6,268 people died through medically assisted suicide in 2025. This represents nearly 8% of total deaths within the province. British Columbia also saw a substantial proportion of deaths through MAiD, with more than 7% of the approximately 44,000 deaths recorded in that province attributed to assisted dying — a total of 3,189 deaths.

At the national level, the figures indicate that about 1 in 20 deaths in Canada occurred via MAiD during the same period. Since the program’s legalization in 2016, an estimated 76,475 Canadians have ended their lives with medical assistance up to 2024. The median age of individuals choosing assisted death was around 78 years in 2024.

Canada’s population stood at approximately 42 million in 2025. Similar to other developed nations, the country faces demographic challenges including declining birthrates and an aging populace, trends that some analysts suggest may be influencing the uptake of assisted dying.

Critics of the program caution that what began as an exceptional measure for those suffering intolerably is becoming more normalized within clinical care. Dr. Ramona Coelho of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute noted that assisted dying is frequently framed as an act of compassion and respect for patient autonomy. However, concerns remain about the broader implications for healthcare delivery.

“Assisted dying is often framed as compassion for the suffering and preservation of a patient’s autonomy,” Coelho said. “But what happens when a steady dying becomes embedded in clinical decision-making and clinicians shift from focusing on healing to evaluating whether suffering justifies death?” she added, highlighting the ethical and clinical questions raised by the rising prevalence of MAiD in Canadian healthcare.

This article was reported by synthesizing coverage from multiple independent news outlets to present a balanced, unbiased account. Read about our editorial standards. Spotted an error? Let us know.