Canada euthanasia report - massive problems with reporting errors.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

On July 8, 2026, we published an article explaining that Canada had approximately 17,700 reported euthanasia deaths in 2025 representing a 7.3% increase in killings from 2024 and representing about 5.6% of all deaths.

Our article reported that the British Columbia (BC) Health Authority released its 2025 euthanasia data indicating that there were 3189 reported euthanasia deaths in BC in 2025 which was up by 6.3% from 3000 in 2024.

We also shared similar data, in that article, from Alberta, Ontario and Nova Scotia.

 

Petition: Canada's euthanasia law needs a complete review (Link). 

Since then more 2024 BC euthanasia data was obtained by Terry O'Neill, a Catholic researcher in BC, showing massive errors with euthanasia (MAiD) reporting in BC. O'Neill obtained further data from the BC MAiD Oversight Unit, a department of the BC Health Authority.

According to the BC 2024 euthanasia data there were 4169 requests for euthanasia resulting in 3000 reported euthanasia deaths.

The data indicates that the MAiD Oversight Unit reported 2,807 errors with 51.9 per cent of “MAiD case outcomes” requiring corrective “follow-up.” The report said that “follow-up” means obtaining missing information or clarifying existing information.

That means that in BC, there were 3000 reported 2024 euthanasia deaths in 2024 with 51.9% of those deaths required some type of follow-up, with some of the euthanasia reports having multiple reporting errors.

When examining the errors in the BC report one notices that:

• 22.7% MAiD outcome form had eligibility criteria errors,
• 14.9% prescriber form, errors in safeguards (assessments),
• 10.9% had missing forms,
• 9.4% MAiD outcome form eligibility criteria errors,
• 8.3% receipt of the written request error
• 6.4% Administration of MAiD error,

There were many more categories of errors that were less common.

 

Similar concerns about reporting errors exist in Canada's biggest province, Ontario.

On November 12, 2024; we published a commentary on Alexander Raikin's research published in The New Atlantis that we titled: Ontario: At least 428 non-compliant (MAiD) euthanasia deaths.

On November 18, 2024; Alexander Raikin's article: A quarter of all Ontario MAiD providers may have violated the Criminal Code. Does Anyone Care? was published by The Hub. Raikin's article is based on the same research that led to his earlier article, except that his most recent article adds significant historical context to the issue.

After publishing these articles several people emailed us stating that compliant or non-compliant, all euthanasia deaths involve the killing of a human being and are inherently wrong. I agree.

Euthanasia (MAiD) is about poisoning a person to death. Further to that, the law provides Canadian doctors and nurse practitioners complete legal immunity from the law for homicide, when the "safeguards" are followed. When the legal parameters of the law are not followed, the doctor and nurse practitioner can be prosecuted.

Nonetheless, there have been no prosecutions in Canada and Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons (Provincial bodies) have not removed even one medical license in Canada, even for the worst cases.

EPC urges the government to consider the many stories associated with our euthanasia law that have been publicized world-wide and recognize that the law needs to be reviewed.

Petition: Canada's euthanasia law needs a complete review (Link).