MAID in Canada: What’s Changing?

Canada’s laws on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) are entering a new phase. On October 7, 2026, the federal government announced plans to maintain the exclusion of people whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness and to introduce legislation allowing advance requests for MAID in certain circumstances.

Mental illness and MAID

Under current federal law, MAID is not available when a mental illness is a person’s sole underlying medical condition. This exclusion is scheduled to expire on March 17, 2027. The federal government intends to introduce legislation to maintain the exclusion indefinitely, with no set date for it to end.

The decision follows a parliamentary committee review that heard differing views on whether Canada’s health-care system and medical professionals are adequately prepared for such cases. Concerns include determining whether a mental illness is irremediable and ensuring people have access to appropriate mental-health care and other supports.

Advance requests

The federal government also plans to introduce legislation that would make advance requests for MAID legally possible. An advance request allows a person to document their wishes while they still have decision-making capacity, in anticipation of losing that capacity in the future. This is particularly relevant to people with progressive conditions such as dementia.

However, changing federal law would not automatically make advance requests available across Canada. Each province and territory would need to establish its own legislation or policies to permit and regulate the practice.

What happens next?

Both proposed changes must still go through the legislative process. How advance requests are implemented will depend on decisions made by each province and territory, potentially resulting in different rules across Canada.