OTTAWA – Opposing visions in Canada on “assisted dying”: Alberta has announced it will take greater provincial control over Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID), formally following Québec’s example but with an opposite approach. While the French-speaking province has expanded access to the procedure, the prairie province’s government intends to introduce new restrictions. 

As reported by the National Post, Alberta’s Government House Leader, Joseph Schow, indicated that during the spring legislative session a bill will be introduced to prohibit MAID for several groups considered vulnerable, including mature minors and people suffering solely from mental disorders or cognitive disabilities without a qualifying physical condition. The proposal also includes a ban on so-called “advance requests,” already authorized in Québec, which allow individuals to obtain prior approval for assisted death. According to Schow, provincial intervention is necessary due to the lack of adequate safeguards in the federal program, which has been in operation for nearly ten years. He stated that Ottawa has progressively expanded MAID access and plans to extend it to people whose only medical condition is a mental illness, a possibility currently suspended until March 2027.

Premier Danielle Smith had already indicated last September her intention to strengthen protections, tasking the Attorney General with drafting legislation to limit access to the procedure in cases based solely on mental health.

MAID has been legal in Canada since 2016, following a Supreme Court ruling that struck down the criminal ban on assisted suicide. Initially, it was reserved for capable adults whose death was “reasonably foreseeable,” but a Québec Superior Court decision in 2021 led to a revision of federal law that significantly broadened access criteria. While the framework is federal, provinces retain authority over its implementation within local health systems.

Québec has continued to liberalize access, approving in 2023 a law that allows people in the early stages of degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, to submit advance requests before losing the ability to provide informed consent. Ottawa has not amended the Criminal Code to incorporate this measure but has stated it will not challenge the provincial legislation. The French-speaking province consistently leads the country in MAID deaths: in 2024, it accounted for 36% of nationally registered cases while representing only 22% of Canada’s population. Alberta, with roughly 11% of the population, accounted for 7% of deaths. According to Jasmin Lemieux-Lefebvre, a researcher at the Québec organization Living with Dignity, strong support for MAID reflects a cultural specificity in the province, where much of civil society is in favor.

Alberta-based organizations take an opposite stance. Trish Bowman, director of the disability rights group Inclusion Alberta, welcomed the provincial government’s initiative, calling it “literally life and death.” Bowman—cited by the same article of National Post—stressed the urgency of introducing new protections before the federal moratorium on mental health–based cases expires. However, she also pointed out a contradiction in provincial policies: while MAID restrictions are being strengthened, benefits for people with disabilities are being reduced. “We would like to see a more comprehensive social policy relative to supporting individuals with disabilities in Alberta,” Bowman concluded.

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