Majority of Canadians unaware of planned MAID expansion for mental illness: poll

The majority of Canadians are unaware that mental illness eligibility for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) is due to take effect in March 2027, a new poll has found.

The data compiled by the non-profit Angus Reid Institute comes from an online survey conducted between May 7 and 11, 2026, among a representative sample of 1,803 Canadian adults. It showed that 56 per cent of respondents did not know about the scheduled expansion of mental illness as a sole condition for MAID before completing the survey.

The survey also found that just 37 per cent of Canadians had been following the issue.

Regardless of prior awareness of the expansion, opinions on the issue remain deeply divided. Among those aware of the 2027 expansion, 46 per cent said they support it, while 44 per cent are opposed. For those who had been previously unaware of the expansion, 42 per cent said they support it, and 37 per cent are opposed.

The proportion of respondents who said they were “not sure” whether they support or oppose the expansion was 21 per cent among those who were previously unaware of it, compared with 10 per cent for those who had been following news about MAID.

In February 2024, the federal government passed legislation delaying the implementation of MAID for people whose only underlying medical condition is a mental illness until March 2027. Ottawa is currently awaiting a committee report before deciding whether to continue with this timeline.

Elsewhere, the Angus Reid poll looked at support among Canadians for the original 2016 MAID framework, which restricted MAID eligibility to patients with a medical condition where death was reasonably foreseeable, and compared it with support for subsequent eligibility expansions.

The survey data showed that “Canadians express growing hesitation as eligibility expands beyond those whose deaths are reasonably foreseeable.”

Nearly four in five Canadians (77 per cent) support the original 2016 MAID criteria, but support falls to 53 per cent for the 2021 expansion, which saw MAID become available to people with a serious, incurable illness or disability whose death is not reasonably foreseeable.

Opinion divides sharply on mental illness as a sole condition, with overall numbers showing 43 per cent support the measure, 39 per cent oppose it, and 19 per cent are unsure.

Three-quarters of Canadians (74 per cent) say the government should first demonstrate that adequate housing, income supports, and disability-related care are available before MAID is offered to someone with a disability.

Views on mental illness as a sole MAID condition divide sharply by political affiliation. Liberal voters lean in favour (51 per cent support), as do NDP (55 per cent) and Bloc Québécois (61 per cent) voters. Conservative voters are the most opposed, with 57 per cent against the expansion and 29 per cent supporting it.

The current delay on expansion is due to expire in March 2027, but recent reports suggest the federal government expects a parliamentary committee to recommend a further postponement, and that the government will likely follow that advice.

When asked by reporters last month about his personal position on MAID, Prime Minister Mark Carney said: “I’m waiting to see the report of the interparliamentary committee. I haven’t received any briefings specifically on it.”

• Ontario man dies of MAID after being assessed outside Tim Hortons
• ‘My message to Canada: do not expand’: Dutch psychiatrists warn on MAID

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