her percentage medical assistance in deaths – also known as euthanasia – has increased in Canada for the fifth consecutive year, albeit at a slower rate. The country published its fifth annual report since legalizing assisted dying in 2016, which for the first time included data on the nationality of those seeking euthanasia.

About 15,300 people underwent assisted dying last year, representing the 4.7% of deaths in the country. Canadian lawmakers are currently seeking to expand access to euthanasia to cover people with mental illness until 2027.

Canada is among the few countries that have enacted assisted dying laws in the past decade. Others include the Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Austria.

Data released Wednesday by Health Canada show that the rate of assisted dying in Canada increased by almost 16% in 2023. This number is a sharp drop from the average increase of 31% in previous years. The report cautioned that it is too early to determine what caused the rate to drop.

Almost everyone who requested assisted dying – about 96% – had a foreseeable natural death. The remaining 4% were euthanized due to long-term chronic illness and where no natural death was to occur.

The average age of those seeking assisted dying was about 77 years oldwith cancer being the most common underlying medical condition. For the first time, the report delves into the racial and ethnic profile of those who died by euthanasia. About 96% of recipients identified as whitewho represent about 70% of Canada’s population. It is not clear what caused this disparity. The second most reported ethnic group was East Asians (1.8%), who represent about 5.7% of Canadians.

Assisted dying continued to have the highest rate of use in Quebecwhich accounted for nearly 37% of all euthanasia deaths, despite the province holding just 22% of Canada’s population. The Quebec government launched a study earlier this year to look into why its euthanasia rate was so high.

The right to assisted dying and eligibility criteria

While the number of assisted deaths in Canada is increasing, the country still lags behind Netherlandswhere euthanasia accounted for about 5% of total deaths last year.

His deputies United Kingdom they voted late last month to pass a similar bill giving terminally ill adults in England and Wales the right to have an assisted death, although it will face months of further scrutiny before it becomes law. As British MPs debated the legislation, Canada was cited by some as a cautionary tale because of a perceived lack of safeguards.

Like the United Kingdom, Canada initially legalized assisted dying only for those whose death was “reasonably foreseeable”. However, Canada expanded access in 2021 to people who may not have a definitive diagnosis but want to end their lives because of a chronic, debilitating condition. It was set to widen access once again to people with mental illness earlier this year. But that was delayed a second time after concerns were raised by Canada’s provinces, which oversee the delivery of health care, about whether the system could handle such an expansion.

On Wednesday, Health Canada defended the procedure, saying the criminal code stipulates “strict eligibility criteria”.

But Cardus, a Christian think tank, said the latest figures were “alarming” and showed that Canada has one of the fastest growing euthanasia programs in the world.

A report released in October by Ontario – Canada’s most populous province – has since shed some light on controversial cases where people were assisted to die when they were not nearing their natural death.

One example involved a woman in her 50s with a history of depression and suicidal thoughts who had severe chemical sensitivity. Her request for euthanasia was granted after she was unable to secure housing that could meet her medical needs. Another case made headlines in recent months of a Nova Scotia cancer patient who said she was asked if she knew about assisted dying as an option twice as she underwent mastectomy surgery. The question “came up in completely inappropriate places,” he told the National Post.

Canadian news outlets have also reported cases where disabled people have considered assisted dying due to homelessness or disability benefits.