Are dying with dignity and medical assistance in dying the same thing?
No. Medical assistance in dying (MAID) is the legal process that allows eligible adults to receive medical help to end their life under specific circumstances and with specific safeguards in place. Dying with dignity is a broader idea, often used to describe having personal choice, comfort, and respect at the end of life. MAID is one way to pursue this, but a person may also consider palliative care or other dignified options.
Additionally, Dying With Dignity Canada is the name of the national charity that hosts this website and whose role is to educate, support and advocate for end-of-life rights, including access to MAID. The organization has local chapters across Canada.
Can this website – or the people behind it – determine whether I qualify for medical assistance in dying?
No. In Canada, only a nurse practitioner or physician can determine whether you meet the eligibility criteria for medical assistance in dying (MAID).
This website provides general information and is published by Dying With Dignity Canada, a national charity that ensures access to quality end-of-life choice and care. The organization can help you understand and navigate your options, but they can’t assess eligibility.
Learn how the MAID process works.
Can someone who chooses medical assistance in dying donate their organs?
Yes, in some situations. In Canada, organ donation after a medically assisted death is legal, but it can be logistically complex, requiring that medical assistance in dying (MAID) happens in or near a hospital so that organ recovery can occur shortly after death, though this varies by region. Tissue donations may be possible in more settings.
To avoid conflict of interest, the decision to pursue MAID must be made before donation is discussed, and separate teams are involved.
Not everyone is eligible, but your health care team can explain your options.
How do I request medical assistance in dying?
In Canada, the process of requesting medical assistance in dying (MAID) varies depending on your province or territory, but no matter where you live, the first step is to speak with a nurse practitioner, physician or your provincial/territorial MAID team. You can raise the request directly with your own health care provider, or ask for a referral to someone who provides MAID. If you don’t have a primary health care provider, you can reach out directly to the MAID coordination service in your province or territory.
Learn more about the process of requesting MAID.
How is medical assistance in dying distinguished from suicide?
The Government of Canada defines suicide as “the intentional act of ending one’s life.” Defined this way, it might seem that lots of personal decisions, like ceasing life-sustaining treatment or deciding not to pursue a life-preserving organ transplant would also be called suicide. But they are not.
When capable adults make voluntary and informed decisions about their care, it is not called suicide. That’s where MAID fits in.
MAID is a legal medical procedure available to eligible adults who meet strict criteria set out in Canadian law. It involves multiple assessments by independent health care providers, informed consent, and built-in safeguards. A person can only access MAID when they have a grievous and irremediable condition.
As part of the assessment process, providers are required to explore a person’s decision-making capacity and voluntariness. If there are signs of a crisis, acute distress, or new or worsening mental disorders, treatment and supports are offered and assessment for MAID will be put on hold. The assessment is designed to ensure that a request for MAID is consistent, durable, and well-considered.
Making it clear when we use the terms medical assistance in dying and suicide matters to patients, families, and clinicians. Words influence how we understand suffering, care, and choice at the end of life.
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.
Will medical assistance in dying affect my life insurance policy?
No. In Canada, medical assistance in dying (MAID) is generally treated by insurance companies as a legal medical procedure, not as suicide. According to a statement made by the Canadian Life and Health and Insurance Association, “if a person follows the legislated process for medical assistance in dying then their death will not be considered a suicide.” To be sure, review your policy and speak directly with your insurer.
Can I access medical assistance in dying in Canada if I live outside of Canada?
Generally, no. To access medical assistance in dying (MAID) in Canada, you must be eligible for publicly funded health care services in a Canadian province or territory – typically as a citizen or permanent resident.
Canadian citizens and permanent residents who live outside of Canada may return to Canada and be eligible to receive MAID in Canada.
Canada does not offer MAID to people who are not citizens or permanent residents of Canada and who travel here for that purpose. If you live outside of Canada and are not a Canadian citizen, you would need to explore the laws and options available in your own country, or in Switzerland, which is the only country that allows non-residents to access medical assistance in dying.
What medications are used for medical assistance in dying?
In Canada, the medications used in medical assistance in dying (MAID) follow a medical protocol intended to ensure a comfortable, fast, and a peaceful death.
Several medications are usually given intravenously. They are typically prepared in separate syringes and administered one at a time, in a carefully controlled sequence. A nurse practitioner or physician administers the medications and is present throughout the process, which takes about 8 minutes, and unfolds as follows:
- first, a sedative relaxes the person
- sometimes a local anesthetic is used to reduce brief discomfort from the intravenous medications
- next, a general anesthetic induces a coma-like sleep
- finally, a neuromuscular blocker stops breathing and heartbeat
Can someone with a psychiatric disorder or mental illness access medical assistance in dying?
Not if a psychiatric disorder is their only underlying medical condition. However, a person living with a psychiatric disorder may be eligible for medical assistance in dying (MAID) if they also have another serious and incurable medical condition.
A temporary legal exclusion for people with a “mental illness as a sole underlying condition” is in place in Canada until March 17, 2027. This means that people with a psychiatric disorder – such as major depression, schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder – on its own, without another serious and incurable physical illness, do not currently qualify for MAID. 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 Dying With Dignity Canada's advocacy efforts.
People who live with a mental illness in addition to another serious and incurable medical condition – for example, major depression and cancer – may be eligible, provided they meet all other criteria.
The exclusion does not apply to neurocognitive disorders such as dementia.
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.
Can someone with dementia access medical assistance in dying?
Some people with dementia can access medical assistance in dying (MAID), but timing is critical. A person must have decision-making capacity at the time of assessment and, in most cases, at the time MAID is provided. Because dementia can progressively impair capacity, some people seek assessment earlier in the illness.
In some cases, for people whose natural death is reasonably foreseeable (Track 1), a waiver of final consent may be put into place if there is risk of the person losing capacity. This allows MAID to proceed in certain situations on or before the scheduled date, even if the person has lost decision-making capability.
Advance requests are not broadly permitted under current federal law. An exception exists in Quebec, where advance requests are allowed in limited circumstances.
Learn about Dying With Dignity Canada’s work to expand access for people with progressive neurocognitive disorders in their page about advance requests.
Do the medications used in medical assistance in dying cause pain, or does it feel like drowning?
No. The medications used in medical assistance in dying (MAID) are the same types of medications used in other medical and surgical situations. Given in a specific sequence at appropriate dosages, they work quickly to relax the person, put them in a coma-like sleep, then stop their breathing. Death usually occurs within minutes. MAID does not cause fluid to build up in the lungs or any physical process similar to drowning.
Is medical assistance in dying used to reduce the cost of publicly funded health care?
No. Canada’s medical assistance in dying (MAID) laws are governed by strict legal and medical criteria. Decisions are based on individual medical circumstances, enduring suffering, and personal autonomy, not economic considerations. There is no evidence that MAID is used systematically or strategically to reduce health care costs. MAID assessors and providers are bound by legal and ethical safeguards designed to protect vulnerable people.
Learn more about safeguards for MAID.
Is medical assistance in dying used to target people who are poor, disabled, or marginalized?
No. Medical assistance in dying (MAID) eligibility is determined by legally defined criteria in a clinical context, including the person’s medical condition, experience of suffering, decision-making capacity, and whether their request is voluntary and free from pressure. Being poor or from a marginalized community does not qualify or disqualify someone.
Disability may be part of a person’s medical condition, but eligibility always depends on meeting the full set of criteria and safeguards. Federal reporting requirements provide oversight to ensure these criteria are met.
The Government of Canada publishes an annual report that allows the Canadian public to understand how MAID is used across the country. Reports for 2023 and 2024 showed data suggesting that people who live in low-income neighbourhoods were not overly represented in the group of people who received MAID during those years.
Learn more about safeguards for MAID.
Can doctors – or any other health care provider – recommend medical assistance in dying as an alternative to treatment or suggest someone apply for or have MAID?
No one has the right to tell a person they should apply for or have MAID, but the law does not prohibit health care providers from responding to questions about medical assistance in dying (MAID) from a patient. Discussing MAID is not the same as recommending or directing someone toward it. Eligibility requires a voluntary, informed request from the patient.
In most provinces, nurse practitioners and physicians may raise MAID as part of end-of-life care planning, alongside palliative care and other options.
Health care providers, including those who assess or provide MAID, are regulated by professional colleges in their province or territory. They must follow established laws, policies, and standards of practice, and are accountable for their conduct. To learn more about how health care professionals are regulated, visit the website of the relevant professional college in your province or territory.
More information about MAID practice and guidance documents is available at the Canadian Association of MAiD Assessors and Providers website
If I think I meet the criteria and should be eligible for MAID, may I receive it?
No. Only MAID assessors can determine whether you meet the eligibility criteria. You may tell them why you think you should be eligible, but they must determine eligibility based on their clinical assessments and using their clinical judgment and experience. They may or may not agree with you. If they do not agree with you, they should explain why.
If you have questions about how the eligibility criteria may apply to your situation or would like to request an assessment, contact your provincial or territorial MAID care coordination service.
Can my family member, lawyer, Substitute Decision-Maker, or anyone else request MAID for me?
No. Only the person seeking MAID can make the request.
Can I use cannabis or alcohol before my MAID procedure?
This is possible, though best discussed with your MAID provider in advance. Keep in mind that having the capacity to give consent means ensuring that you are not impaired.
Can I have friends or family with me at my MAID assessments?
Yes. Most assessors welcome family or friends you choose to have with you, though they will ask them to leave for a part of the assessment where they ask questions of you alone.
Can I have friends or family with me when I receive MAID?
Yes. Most MAID providers welcome family or friends to be with you when you receive MAID.
Do I need someone to be present at my MAID procedure?
In most provinces, you do not have to have someone with you on the day of MAID. However, you will have to have someone to phone the funeral home and to lock up your home when the MAID provider and nurse leave. This is best discussed and confirmed with the MAID provider in advance.
Can my dog or cat be with me when I receive MAID?
This will depend on where MAID takes place and the comfort level of your MAID provider and the attending IV nurse. Your wish to have pets present can often be accommodated.
Can my MAID provider set my date for me, or tell me when I should have MAID?
No. Only you can decide when you will receive MAID. The exact date and time will have to be coordinated with your MAID provider, but they cannot set the date for you or tell you when to receive MAID.
Can someone else fill out my written request form for me?
Yes. Someone under your direction is allowed to fill out the written request form, but you must be the person providing the answers to the questions. You must be the person to sign it, unless you are physically unable to sign your name, in which case a proxy or authorized third person can be directed by you to sign.
If I have special needs, such as requiring a scent-free environment, will my needs be accommodated?
Most requests like this can be accommodated with advance planning. If you have special needs or requests, discuss them with your MAID provider well before your procedure or assessment date.