Article By Frank Bergman
A growing coalition of disability advocates, mental health organizations, and community groups is sounding the alarm over the Canadian government’s plans to begin euthanizing people suffering solely from mental illness.
A total of 90 organizations have now formally urged Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party government to abandon the controversial expansion, warning that vulnerable Canadians could face devastating consequences if the policy moves forward.
The groups recently sent letters to Prime Minister Mark Carney, Health Minister Marjorie Michel, and Justice Minister Sean Fraser demanding that the federal government halt plans to broaden Canada’s “Medical Assistance in Dying” (MAID) regime to include those struggling with mental illness alone.
Coalition Warns Vulnerable Canadians Are Being Put at Risk
The organizations argue that Canada has failed to provide adequate mental health care and support services, making any expansion of assisted suicide especially dangerous.
They are calling for individuals suffering from mental illness to be permanently excluded from the country’s euthanasia program, warning that those facing mental health crises need treatment and support, not state-facilitated lethal injections.
Their intervention comes as a parliamentary committee of MPs and senators continues reviewing the possibility of expanding euthanasia eligibility next year.
Critics have repeatedly warned that Canada’s MAID regime has already expanded far beyond what many Canadians were originally told when euthanasia was legalized.
The practice has become so normalized that recent reports revealed doctors approving euthanasia requests in coffee shop parking lots, fueling concerns that safeguards are rapidly eroding.
Trudeau-Era Expansion Opened the Door
Canada legalized euthanasia in 2016 under the Liberal government of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The program was dramatically expanded in 2021 after Trudeau’s globalist government passed Bill C-7, allowing people suffering from chronic illnesses, not just those who were terminally ill, to be euthanized by authorities.
Since then, Liberal governments have continued pushing to extend eligibility to those suffering solely from mental illness.
Faced with mounting backlash from medical professionals, pro-life advocates, mental health experts, and provincial governments, Ottawa delayed the mental illness expansion until 2027.
But concerns have not subsided.
Many critics argue that expanding euthanasia while Canada’s mental health system remains under strain could place vulnerable individuals at increased risk.
Catholic Leaders Back Effort to Stop Expansion
Canada’s Catholic bishops have thrown their support behind Bill C-218, a Conservative-backed measure designed to block the expansion of euthanasia for mental illness.
Cardinal Frank Leo, the metropolitan archbishop of Toronto, recently urged Prime Minister Carney to allow Liberal MPs a free vote on the legislation rather than forcing party discipline.
However, Carney has signaled that Liberal MPs will continue supporting the government’s existing position on euthanasia and abortion-related issues.
Meanwhile, some provinces are moving in the opposite direction.
Alberta has recently advanced legislation that would place stricter limits on access to “assisted suicide.”
Euthanasia Now Among Canada’s Leading Causes of Death
The debate comes as euthanasia continues to grow at a staggering pace across Canada.
What was once promoted as a narrowly tailored option for terminally ill patients has expanded so dramatically that euthanasia is now the sixth-leading cause of death in Canada.
Just a few years ago, it did not even appear among Statistics Canada’s top ten causes of death.
Critics say that statistics alone should force lawmakers to reconsider the direction of the country’s euthanasia policies before yet another major expansion moves forward.
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