Canada will move to permanently exclude people whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness from medical assistance in dying (MAID), Justice Minister Sean Fraser announced Wednesday.
The government plans to introduce legislation to prevent the eligibility expansion scheduled for March 17, 2027, when the current temporary exclusion expires.
Fraser said the decision followed continued disagreement over whether Canada has adequate safeguards and medical expertise to assess MAID requests involving mental illness alone.
It also follows a June 17, 2026 recommendation by a special joint committee of the House of Commons and Senate that the exclusion be maintained indefinitely.
The committee cited unresolved concerns over determining whether a psychiatric condition is irremediable, assessing patients’ capacity to make irreversible decisions and distinguishing MAID requests from suicidal crises that could respond to treatment or support.
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Canada legalized MAID in 2016, following a Supreme Court ruling that found the blanket prohibition on assisted dying unconstitutional in certain circumstances.
Parliament expanded eligibility in 2021, removing the requirement that a person’s natural death be reasonably foreseeable, but retained the exclusion for people whose only underlying condition was mental illness.
The exclusion was initially extended to March 17, 2024, before Parliament passed legislation receiving Royal Assent on February 29, 2024, delaying the proposed expansion until March 17, 2027 and requiring another parliamentary review.
The issue remains divisive. Advocates for expansion have cited equality and individual autonomy, while opponents have questioned whether mental illnesses can be reliably determined to be permanently irremediable and whether vulnerable patients can be adequately protected.
Wednesday’s announcement does not itself change the law. Parliament must approve the proposed legislation before the temporary exclusion can become permanent.
For now, Canadians whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness remain ineligible for MAID.