(62%) of Canadians are concerned that socially and financially vulnerable will look to MAID based on inadequate health care.

Six percent of the respondents indicated that they knew a person who was offered MAiD (euthanasia) who had not requested it.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

The Angus Reid Institute in partnership with Cardus conducted an opinion poll of 1652 Canadians concerning MAiD (euthanasia). Similar to previous opinion polls, the current poll which was released on November 21, 2024 found that Canadians generally support access to MAiD (euthanasia) but have significant concerns with the application of the law.

The poll found that 63% of the respondents supported Canada's euthanasia law while 62% said that they worry about socially and financially vulnerable Canadians looking to MAID in lieu of adequate and quality health care.

Furthering the concerns is that people with disabilities are reporting barriers to accessing health care:

A majority (57%) of those living with disabilities which severely impact their day-to-day life have experienced some sort of barrier, including worse access to health care in general (31%), worse quality care (24%), difficulty finding a primary care doctor (21%), or inaccessible treatment or testing locations (12%).

The poll included 468 respondents who were healthcare workers. Among this group:

(45%) say they believe people living with disability receive poor or terrible care in their province.

The poll found that nearly 4 in 10 healthcare workers stated that Canadians with disabilities experience slower access to healthcare, a lower quality of care and are less likely to have their concerns taken seriously in the healthcare system.

The poll also found that almost 1 in 5 Canadians know someone who has died by MAiD (euthanasia) and 6% of the respondents indicated that they knew a person who was offered MAiD who had not requested it.

With instances of MAID increasing, the proportion of those who know a close friend or family member who received MAID has reached one-in-five (18%). This is higher among those older than 54 (24%) and those in Quebec (26%), the province which has seen the most medically assisted deaths since 2016. Exposure is close to evenly divided between close friends or family members.

Notably, six per cent of Canadians say that they had a close friend or family member who was offered MAID unsolicited, something opponents have been concerned about.

The 6% of respondents who stated that a friend or relative was offered euthanasia without asking for it, 37% stated that the person accepted the suggestion and died by euthanasia.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition has received many phone calls from people who were upset that healthcare professionals (often a hospital MAiD team) had asked them or a loved one if they wanted euthanasia. One person contacted me after being asked 5 times if they wanted euthanasia.

In June 2024, Heather Hancock, who lives with Cerebral Palsy, shared her story of being pressured at two Canadian hospitals to request MAiD (euthanasia).

Canada had approximately 15,280 euthanasia deaths in 2023 (Article Link).

Previous Angus Reid polls:

• The majority of Canadians oppose euthanasia for mental health (Link). 
• 28% of Canadians support euthanasia for mental illness (Link).
  
• The majority of Canadians say that religiously affiliated hospitals should not be forced to do euthanasia (Link). 
• Canadians oppose further expansions of (MAiD) euthanasia (Link).