The rate of medical assistance in dying – also known as euthanasia – has grown in Canada for the fifth straight year, albeit at a slower pace.
The country released its fifth annual report since legalising assisted dying in 2016, which for the first time included data on the ethnicity of those seeking euthanasia.
Around 15,300 people underwent assisted dying last year, accounting for 4.7% of deaths in the country. Canada lawmakers are currently seeking to expand access to euthanasia to cover people with mental illnesses by 2027.
Canada is among a few countries that have introduced assisted dying laws in the past decade. Others include Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Austria.
The figures released on Wednesday by Health Canada show that the rate of assisted dying in Canada increased by nearly 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 slacken.
Nearly all of those who requested assisted dying – around 96% – had a foreseeable natural death. The remaining 4% were granted euthanasia due to having a long-term chronic illness and where a natural death was not imminent.
The average age of those seeking assisted dying was around 77 years old, with cancer being the most frequent underlying medical condition.
For the first time, the report delved into race and ethnic data of those who died by euthanasia.
Around 96% of recipients identified as white people, who account for about 70% of Canada’s population. It is unclear what caused this disparity.
The second most reported ethnic group was east Asians (1.8%), who account for about 5.7% of Canadians.
Assisted dying continued to have the highest usage rate in Quebec, which accounted for nearly 37% of all euthanasia deaths, despite the province holding just 22% of Canada’s population.
Quebec’s government launched a study earlier this year to examine why its euthanasia rate was so high. [BBC News]