Ottawa plans to keep mental illness alone excluded from MAID; current law still sets March 2027 date
Ottawa says it will not expand MAID to people whose sole condition is mental illness, but the current law still sets March 17, 2027 as the end of the exclusion unless Parliament amends it.
The federal government has said it does not plan to expand medical assistance in dying (MAID) to people whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness. That is a policy commitment; the current legal exclusion remains scheduled to end on March 17, 2027 unless Parliament changes the law.
A Department of Justice advisory dated October 23 refers to the government’s earlier commitment not to move ahead with the expansion. Health Canada’s current eligibility guidance still states that a person whose only medical condition is a mental illness is not eligible until March 17, 2027.
What has and has not changed
Parliament extended the exclusion to March 2027 through Bill C-62 in 2024. A further change would require legislation before that date. Other MAID eligibility rules remain governed by the existing federal framework and individual assessments; this report does not determine anyone’s eligibility.
Correction, October 25, 2026: An earlier version incorrectly said the indefinite exclusion was already in law and that the March 2027 date had been removed. The government has announced its intention, but the existing statutory date remains in place pending a legislative amendment.
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