Ten years after the legalization of medical assistance in dying (MAID) in Canada, the procedure has become the fifth-leading cause of death in the country, with nearly 16,500 Canadians killed in this manner in 2025 alone. That figure far exceeds any other nation; the Netherlands, the second-place country, reported 10,300 such deaths. The rate of death from euthanasia is roughly similar in both countries—about six percent of total deaths annually—but Canada's larger population means higher raw numbers.
93,000 Deaths in a Decade
Since MAID was approved by Parliament at the insistence of the Supreme Court in 2016, a total of 93,000 Canadians have died by medically assisted suicide, a number almost no one conceived of at the outset. That is equivalent to the entire population of Lethbridge, Pickering, or Kamloops. According to Lorne Gunter, writing for the Edmonton Journal, the procedure typically involves an IV of sedatives, followed by high-concentration anesthetics to induce deep unconsciousness, and finally neuromuscular blockers that stop the heart and end breathing.
MAID Surpasses Many Common Causes of Death
Only cancer, heart disease, accidents, and stroke claim more lives each year than MAID. Medically assisted death now surpasses lung diseases, diabetes, the flu, Alzheimer's, and liver disease. In the deadliest year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada (2022), 20,293 people died of the virus—only slightly more than the current annual MAID toll. However, StatsCan does not include MAID in its annual Top 10 causes of death list; the data must be extracted from separately published MAID figures and inserted into the general list.
Rapid Lowering of Requirements
The main reason for the ever-increasing numbers has been a rapid lowering of the requirements to apply for MAID. When the program began, there were between 800 and 1,200 approved cases per year, as patients had to have a 'grievous and irremediable medical condition'—an incurable illness, disease, or disability in an advanced state of irreversible decline, with death expected within six months. Now, Gunter reports, a doctor will meet you in the parking lot of Tim Hortons and sign off on your MAID request in between ordering a double-double and some Timbits.
Real-Life Example in Ontario
Gunter notes that this is not a hypothetical example: it actually happened in Ontario. A London, Ont. physician, Dr. James MacLean, met with a man who had inflammatory bowel disease outside a local Tim Hortons. Inflammatory bowel disease is often very painful and has no cure, but there are surgeries and medications to control symptoms. The man's other complaint was a history of mental health issues, which are not supposed to be a basis for MAID. After the meeting, MacLean personally drove the man to the place where MAID was performed. Gunter argues that the growing number of doctors prepared to sign off on just about anyone's request is a serious problem, contributing to the rapid expansion of assisted dying in Canada.
