A snapshot of the new report on MAID deaths in Canada
Health Canada has released the
Fourth Annual Report on MAID in Canada 2022. In broad strokes, here's what the report indicates (all charts taken from the report itself):
- The number of MAiD deaths continues a steep increase, with 13,241 people dying via MAiD in 2022, a 31% increase over the previous year. A total of 44,958 people have died by MAiD since 2016.
- The reasons for choosing MAiD are similar to previous years, including inability to participate in meaningful activities (86.3%), loss of dignity (53.1%), feeling like a burden (35.3%) and isolation/loneliness (17.1%).
- The main medical conditions of all people who died via MAiD in 2022 are listed by category. The majority (63%) had cancer. Other categories include Other Condition (14.9%) and Multiple Comorbidities (10%). A chart breaking out what’s included under Other Condition/Multiple Comorbidities includes fractures, hearing/vision loss and diabetes.
- For people whose death was not reasonably foreseeable, the main medical condition shows approx. 50% had cancer, 37% had Other Conditions and 23.5% had Multiple Comorbidities.
- More requests for MAiD are resulting in death via MAiD than in previous years. Fewer people are dying of other causes and fewer are being found ineligible. Fewer requests for MAiD are being withdrawn than in previous years.
Steep increase continues
Health Canada reports 13,241 people ended their life via MAiD in 2022, a 31% increase over the previous year. A total of 44,958 individuals have ended their lives via MAiD since 2016. In 2022, 463 people whose death was not reasonably foreseeable ended their lives via MAiD.
Reasons for choosing MAiD
The nature of suffering that has led to the request for MAiD includes an inability to participate in meaningful activities (86.3%), loss of dignity (53.1%), feeling like a burden (35.3%) and isolation/loneliness (17.1%). These responses are very similar to previous years.
Main medical condition
The main medical conditions of all people who died via MAiD in 2022 are listed by category in the chart from the Health Canada report, below. The majority (63%) had cancer. Other categories include Other Condition (14.9%) and Multiple Comorbidities (10%). A chart breaking out what’s included under Other Condition/Multiple Comorbidities includes fractures, hearing/vision loss and diabetes.
Individuals who were not dying
This was the second year that Track Two MAiD was offered to people whose death is not reasonably foreseeable. The chart below shows the main medical conditions of those who died by MAiD in 2022 whose natural death was not reasonably foreseeable. Note that the breakdown of medical condition is different from the breakdown of all individuals who died via MAiD. As well, just over half of this group (53.8%) of people not near death who died by MAiD required disability support services, compared to just over one-third (36.8%) of overall MAiD recipients.
Requests for MAiD and outcomes
More requests for MAiD are resulting in death via MAiD than in previous years. Fewer people are dying of other causes and fewer are being found ineligible. Fewer requests for MAiD are being withdrawn than in previous years. Patients who withdrew their request for MAiD were asked to give the reason for withdrawing their request and could give more than one reason. Of the 298 patients who withdrew their request in 2022, the majority (75.9%) said they changed their mind and 41.8% said palliative care was sufficient.
Learn more about medical assistance in dying and what you can do about it at
TheEFC.ca/TakeActionOnMAiD