Canada plans indefinite assisted-dying exclusion for mental illness alone

• The proposed exclusion would keep people whose only underlying condition is mental illness ineligible for medical assistance in dying (MAID).
• Existing law sets 17 March 2027 as the date that temporary exclusion ends; the government’s announcement does not change the law.
• A separate proposed change concerns advance requests by people who may later lose capacity to consent.
• The announcement comes amid a parliamentary debate and a continuing constitutional challenge.

Justice Minister Sean Fraser said on 7 October that the federal government plans legislation this autumn to keep people whose sole underlying medical condition is mental illness excluded from MAID indefinitely. The existing temporary exclusion is due to end on 17 March 2027, so Parliament would need to change the law before then to prevent the scheduled expansion. Fraser gave no specific date for introducing the bill. ^{1 2}

The government is also proposing a separate change to the Criminal Code: allowing assisted dying on the basis of an advance request made by someone diagnosed with a serious illness who later loses the capacity to consent. Fraser said provinces and territories would decide whether to offer the service through their health systems. That question is distinct from whether mental illness alone can qualify someone for MAID. ¹

The division of responsibility could mean different access in different parts of the country. Quebec already permits advance requests in some circumstances, while Alberta has passed legislation barring them, the Canadian Press reported. ^{1 3}

Fraser said the government’s reason for maintaining the mental-illness exclusion was a lack of medical consensus on when a mental illness can be considered irremediable, alongside concerns about access to mental-health care. Those are the minister’s stated reasons for the policy, not settled findings established by the announcement. ¹

The policy follows a June recommendation by a special joint parliamentary committee to keep the exclusion indefinitely. The debate has not been unanimous: committee testimony included support for allowing access from Helen Long, chief executive of Dying With Dignity Canada. ^{4 5}

The legal dispute is also unresolved. In September, an Ontario judge denied Toronto resident Claire Elyse Brosseau’s request for emergency access to MAID, but ordered the federal government to respond to her broader constitutional challenge to the exclusion. The judge’s decision on emergency relief did not decide that underlying challenge. ⁶

Footnotes

1. Associated Press, “Canada to indefinitely bar assisted dying for people whose sole condition is mental illness”. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

2. Health Canada, “Medical assistance in dying: Legislation in Canada”. ↩

3. The Canadian Press, “Government to exclude people who suffer solely from mental illness from access to MAID,” republished by CityNews Toronto. ↩

4. Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying, report on mental illness as the sole underlying medical condition. ↩

5. Parliament of Canada, evidence from the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying, 5 May 2026. ↩

6. The Canadian Press, “Ontario court denies Toronto woman’s motion to apply for MAID for mental illness,” republished by CityNews Toronto. ↩