Canada Killing Prisoners

Canada is letting prisoners end their lives through assisted suicide decades after banning capital punishment, according to newly released federal data.

In 2025 alone, 12 federal inmates requested assisted suicide, which Canada calls Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD), according to an Order Paper response from the Correctional Service of Canada.

Since 2018, at least 15 inmates have died by assisted suicide while in federal custody, according to data reported by the Daily Mail. Over this period, 67 prisoners applied for assisted suicide after it was legalized nationwide in 2016. 

Canada abolished the death penalty for civilian crimes in 1976 and removed it from military law in 1998. Life imprisonment replaced capital punishment for murder and other serious offenses. Even so, the state now permits prisoners to request physician-assisted death while serving their sentences.

The Correctional Service of Canada has reported an increase in assisted suicide requests following the expansion of eligibility rules under the country’s liberal government.

Assisted suicide was legalized in 2016 under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for patients with terminal illnesses. Since then, the government has broadened eligibility to include individuals whose deaths are not imminent.

The newly released prison data does not specify whether inmate deaths fell under Track 1 cases, which involve terminal illness, or Track 2 cases, which apply to non-terminal conditions. The report also does not disclose the sex of the inmates, their locations or the reasons they requested assisted suicide. 

Critics argue allowing the state to facilitate death for prisoners raises ethical questions, especially when they are under full governmental authority and care. Unlike free citizens, inmates cannot remove themselves from state custody or seek alternative support systems. 

The use of assisted suicide in prisons has grown even as Canada maintains its formal rejection of capital punishment. The contrast has fueled concerns of replacing one form of state-sanctioned death with another, without considering the moral implications. 

Advocates of assisted suicide often frame it as an expansion of personal autonomy. Opponents argue consent is hard to establish when individuals are isolated, dependent or facing lifelong imprisonment. 

The Canadian government has not indicated plans to restrict assisted suicide access for prisoners. As eligibility continues to expand, Canada’s approach has drawn international attention. Assisted suicide is now the country’s fifth-leading cause of death.