Quebec ‘world leader’ in euthanising its citizens

The Canadian province of Quebec has the highest euthanasia death rate in the world, a report has revealed.

According to the 2024-25 report of the Commission on end-of-life care, medics directly killed 6,268 people in Quebec, accounting for almost one in every twelve deaths.

Politicians at Westminster and Holyrood are currently scrutinising legislation that would allow state-sponsored suicide across Great Britain.

Self-coercion

The Commission noted that the number of “MAID (Medical Aid in Dying) procedures administered and the proportion of deaths resulting from MAID” have been on the rise in the province since euthanasia was legalised in 2015.

During the study period, 7.9 per cent of all deaths were attributed to MAID, an increase of nine per cent on the previous year.

More than half cited feeling a burden on family, friends or caregivers as a reason they chose euthanasia, while 24 per cent said they wished to die because they felt lonely or isolated.

Approximately 4 per cent of people received MAID “on the same day or the day after signing the official form”, and there were 19 reports of “non-compliance”, where the patient’s death did not meet all the legal criteria.

Neglect

Living with Dignity, a network committed to the protection of life and the inherent dignity of vulnerable people, accused the Government of promoting MAID while “neglecting to mention palliative care” and called for “urgent and decisive action” to strengthen access to palliative care services.

Last month, members of Canada’s Parliamentary Finance Committee were told that disabled Canadians seeking healthcare are being pressured into ending their lives.

Krista Carr, CEO of Inclusion Canada, said: “People with disabilities are now very much afraid, in many circumstances, to show up in the healthcare system with regular health concerns because often MAID is suggested as a solution to what is ‘considered to be intolerable suffering’”.