Quebec medical assistance in dying rate reaches 7.9% of all deaths

Medical assistance in dying (MAID) accounted for 7.9% of all deaths in Quebec during 2024–2025, according to data from the Commission sur les soins de fin de vie. This rate is the highest globally for the procedure, surpassing the Netherlands (5.8%), Belgium (3.8%), and Switzerland (2.5%).

Former Quebec Premier and neurosurgeon Philippe Couillard expressed uncertainty regarding whether he would vote to enact the original 2014 law again today. While the initial legislation was strictly reserved for terminal or pre-terminal illnesses with inevitable fatal outcomes, the legal framework has since expanded. In 2024, Quebec permitted advance requests, allowing individuals with conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease to submit requests before losing the capacity to consent.

Couillard noted that opponents of the original bill had warned that opening the door to assisted dying would lead to broader applications over time, a prediction he believes has materialized. He remarked that he hopes lawmakers did not move too quickly as the scope of the practice has widened beyond its original confines.