Medical assistance in dying cases in Canada rise to 15,000 in 2023, with slower annual growth

More than 15,000 people received medical assistance in dying in Canada in 2023, but federal statistics show the growth in cases has slowed significantly.Health Canada said in its fifth annual report on MAID released Wednesday that the 15,343 people who received help to die last year represented a 15.8 per cent increase from 2022.That’s about half the average annual growth rate of 31 per cent from 2019 to 2022, but the report said it cannot draw “reliable conclusions” about whether the slower increase in demand indicates a “stabilization” of the number of cases over the long term.