This is a summary of the findings of a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Dying With Dignity Canada in March 2024 regarding support for medical assistance in dying (MAID) in Canada.   

A sample of 2,000 Canadians aged 18 years and over was interviewed on the Ipsos I-Say Panel from March 15 – 20, 2024. Weighting was employed to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects the overall population according to the latest census information.  

Key findings  

• Support for the Carter v. Canada decision remains strong and unchanged at 84 per cent. Support is highest in Quebec at 90 per cent, and only millennials show softer support at 79 per cent with all other generations over-indexing at 86 percent. 
• Eighty-three (83) per cent of people across Canada support advance requests for MAID for a person that has had a diagnosis of a capacity-eroding grievous and irremediable medical condition  who will eventually lose the ability to make decisions for themselves. Again, support is higher in Quebec at 88 per cent. Endorsement from Gen X is 86 per cent and Boomers at 88 per cent. An advance request for MAID would allow an individual to describe, in writing, a future circumstance in which they would like to access an assisted death. 
• Ninety-five (95) per cent of those who say they personally suffer from a degenerative neurocognitive condition support advance requests for MAID with a diagnosis, illustrating that personal experience influences perspective. 
• Seventy-one (71) per cent of people across Canada support advance requests for MAID for patients who are competent at the time of the request, even if they are not diagnosed with a grievous and irremediable medical condition. Those who say they personally suffer from a degenerative neurocognitive condition are most likely to support this type of advance request at 85 per cent. 
• Forty-three (43) per cent of people across the country say that the knowledge that Quebec has passed a provincial law authorizing assisted dying for those with neurocognitive disorders makes them more likely to support national legislation, and 47 per cent say they are unimpacted. 
• Thirty-one (31) per cent of people polled say they have some experience with someone who has a degenerative neurocognitive disorder, such as Alzheimer’s or dementia.  

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Dying With Dignity Canada is the national human-rights charity committed to improving quality of dying, protecting end-of-life rights, and helping people across Canada avoid unwanted suffering.