To receive medical assistance in dying (MAID), people must meet specific eligibility criteria, which are assessed by qualified professionals. The eligibility criteria are set out in the Criminal Code, and can be difficult to interpret. This page translates the criteria into clear, practical terms.
The core eligibility criteria
To be eligible for MAID, a person must:
- be at least 18 years old, and have the mental or cognitive capacity to make health care decisions
- be eligible for publicly funded health care in Canada
- make an informed, voluntary request, free from pressure
- have a “grievous and irremediable” medical condition
What is a “grievous and irremediable” condition?
“Grievous and irremediable” describes a person’s overall situation, including the nature of their illness, their functional decline, and the suffering they experience. To meet the legal standard of a “grievous and irremediable” medical condition, a person must:
- have a serious and incurable illness, disease, or disability
- be in an advanced state of decline that cannot be reversed
- experience enduring or lasting physical or psychological suffering they find intolerable
- feel that their suffering cannot be relieved in a way they find acceptable
When your sole underlying condition is a mental illness
A temporary legal exclusion applies when mental illness is the sole underlying condition. The exclusion is in effect until March 17, 2027.
Currently people with mental illness alongside another serious and incurable medical condition may qualify for MAID, provided they meet eligibility criteria.
The exclusion does not apply to neurocognitive disorders such as dementia.
On June 17, 2026, Ottawa’s Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying (AMAD) issued its report on MAID eligibility for persons whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness. Their report recommended an indefinite exclusion. The government will now consider the report and issue a response to this recommendation. For now, the exemption that is in place remains set to expire on March 17, 2027. Dying With Dignity Canada continues to advocate for access to MAID for eligible individuals whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness. Learn more about With Dignity Canada's advocacy efforts.
If you are struggling, in crisis, or in need of additional support, help is available. Call or text 9-8-8 anytime to connect with a trained responder who can listen and support you.
What is, and what is not, a mental illness?
In this context, mental illness refers to psychiatric conditions such as major depression, schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder.
Neurocognitive or neurological conditions – such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, and Parkinson’s disease – are not considered mental illnesses and are assessed under the same eligibility criteria as other serious and incurable illnesses.
What is a “reasonably foreseeable” natural death?
During the assessment process, a MAID provider determines whether a person’s natural death is “reasonably foreseeable.”
“Reasonably foreseeable” means a person is on a trajectory towards death, but their natural death could still be years away. It does not mean that death is imminent or expected within a specific timeframe.
The decision places the person on one of two tracks that determine which procedural safeguards and timelines must be followed. Learn more about MAID safeguards.
Understanding eligibility
You don’t need to have a terminal illness
Eligibility is determined by whether you have a “grievous and irremediable” medical condition, not a specific prognosis or timeframe.
People with neurocognitive disorders, such as dementia, may be eligible for MAID.
To be eligible for MAID, a person must have decision-making capacity at the time of their eligibility assessments. If someone has lost capacity and is not regaining it at the time of assessment, they will not be found eligible.
People with mild or moderate dementia may still have the capacity to choose MAID, if they have decision-making capacity and meet all other eligibility criteria at the time of assessment. This is assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Communicating one’s decision does not mean that a person must communicate verbally. There are other ways that this could happen, such as with the help of communication aids. Capacity is also task-specific. A person who can no longer balance their chequebook may still be able to give medical consent. Clinicians would determine capacity during an assessment.
If an eligible person loses decision-making capacity before MAID is provided, it cannot usually proceed – except in specific cases where a waiver of final consent has been signed.
In Quebec, advance requests are permitted in certain situations. Elsewhere in Canada, this is not yet allowed. Learn more about advance requests on the Government of Quebec’s website.
Dying With Dignity Canada advocates for legislation to allow access to advance requests for people across Canada, including those living with dementia and other conditions that may lead to loss of capacity.
Minors cannot access MAID
At present, MAID is only available for adults over the age of 18. Whether MAID could some day be allowed for “mature minors’’ – people under the age of 18 who demonstrate decision-making capacity – was originally discussed during the legislative process of Bill C-14 in 2016. In Canada, many minors already make decisions about their health care in their early to late teens, particularly when they have been living with a serious illness or terminal disease for some time.
In 2023, Parliament called for consultation and research through Health Canada but the issue has not progressed. Considerations include whether some mature minors might meet the same eligibility criteria as adults, and what additional safeguards would be required.
Read Dying With Dignity Canada’s position on why access to MAID for mature minors matters.
Eligibility means it’s an option, not an obligation
Eligibility for MAID confirms that the legal requirements have been met and that a person can continue the process of planning a medically assisted death. It does not create an obligation to proceed. A person can withdraw their request at any time, including immediately before MAID is provided. Learn more about how the MAID process works.