A national organisation focused on end-of-life legislation is calling on Canadians to contact their local Members of Parliament and urge them to support a bill that would halt a proposed expansion of assisted dying eligibility to include people with psychiatric conditions.
Campaign Life Coalition has called on supporters to oppose a federal government policy that would extend eligibility for medically assisted dying to people living with mental health conditions, a provision the group stated is set to take effect on March 17, 2027.
A private member's bill tabled by Conservative MP Tamara Jansen is currently under consideration in the House of Commons. Under the proposed legislation, people living with mental illness would remain outside the eligibility criteria for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD). The bill cleared its first reading on June 20, 2025, and has since advanced to second reading, where a floor vote is scheduled for October 7.
According to a published document, members of the Liberal government are anticipated to vote against the bill.
Jansen has argued that extending assisted dying eligibility to people with mental illness amounts to abandonment rather than genuine care. The Canadian Life Coalition has urged the public to contact their MPs in support of Bill C-218 ahead of its scheduled 2027 implementation. The group's "Action Alert" portal is the channel through which members of the public are being directed to reach out to their local MP.
Dr. John Maher, a psychiatrist affiliated with the Canadian Mental Health Association and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Medical Ethics in Mental Health, has raised concerns about the proposed expansion of MAiD. Maher has argued that offering assisted dying while roughly two-thirds of Canadians who need mental health care go without it represents a fundamental policy contradiction, and that extending MAiD to cover mental illness runs counter to the Supreme Court's requirement that life be preserved wherever possible. He has also stated that measures undermining efforts to reduce suicide rates stand at odds with the responsibilities widely recognised within mental health practice.
Jansen has spoken about her terminally ill brother's decision to decline repeated offers from hospital staff regarding medically assisted dying, describing his choice as one she views with pride.
Under Bill C-7, a provision extending assisted dying eligibility to people with mental illness as their sole underlying condition is set to take effect in 2027. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has expressed support for Bill C-218, telling reporters the legislation would prevent thousands of deaths. Poilievre adopted that position after a Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying recommended earlier this year against broadening eligibility for the procedure to those living with mental illness.
A statement from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops expressed the body's support for Bill C-218.
Figures from 2024 indicate that medically assisted deaths in Canada outnumbered firearm homicides recorded across the United States that year.
