This is a summary of the findings of a new poll conducted on behalf of Dying With Dignity Canada released in February 2026 regarding support for medical assistance in dying (MAID) in Canada.    

A sample of 1,000 Canadians aged 18 years and over was interviewed by Environics Research in January 2026. Weighting was employed to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects the overall population according to latest census information. 

Key findings   

Support for the Carter v. Canada decision remains strong at 85 per cent. Support is highest in Quebec, at 90 per cent, and among people aged 65-74, at 91 per cent. 

Eighty-two (82) per cent of people across Canada support advance requests for MAID for a person that has a diagnosis of a capacity-impairing grievous and irremediable condition whose trajectory will eventually cause a loss of decisional competence. Those who have a family member with a diagnosis show higher rates of support, at 90 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. Currently, advance requests are legal only in Quebec. Sixty (60) per cent of those polled agreed that MAID legislation should be consistent across Canada.

Seventy-eight (78) 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, up from 72 per cent in 2025. 

Eighty-two (82) per cent of people across Canada support access to MAID for those suffering from a grievous and irremediable condition, whose deaths are not reasonably foreseeable (Track 2), up from 78 per cent in 2023.

Eighty (80) per cent of people across Canada say they support Track 2 where mental illness is the sole underlying condition.

Combined, 22 per cent of respondents have a personal connection (family or friend/neighbour/colleague) with someone who has received MAID. More than half of those who have a personal connection to MAID say that having that connection made them support it more strongly.

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.