Protecting vulnerable Albertans seeking MAID

Overview

As part of Alberta’s commitment to protecting vulnerable Albertans, Bill 18, the Safeguards for Last Resort Termination of Life Act, would increase oversight, introduce necessary safeguards and provide greater clarity around eligibility requirements for medical assistance in dying (MAID) in the province. The legislation would set out Alberta’s regulatory framework for MAID and will provincially address gaps in the current federal system where there is a lack of protection for vulnerable individuals. 

This legislation would help ensure MAID in Alberta is provided compassionately and in line with federal law, while protecting vulnerable persons, including those with a mental illness. Alberta’s government does not support the federal government’s planned MAID eligibility expansion in March 2027 to include those whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness. The Safeguards for Last Resort Termination of Life Act would ensure individuals with a mental illness are protected in Alberta should the federal expansion come into effect in 2027. 

See the Safeguards for Last Resort Termination of Life Act fact sheet for more details.

Key changes

If passed, Bill 18 will: 

• establish regulation making powers, define key terms and set provincial standards for MAID requests, assessment and provision, which includes:
  • requiring physicians and nurse practitioners assessing someone for MAID to make a reasonable effort to contact each practitioner who is or has acted as a primary care provider for the individual within the 12-month period before the date on which the individual requested MAID
    • In the absence of a primary care provider, assessors must contact the physician or nurse practitioner listed in the individual’s health information as primarily responsible for the individual’s care.  
  • requiring physicians and nurse practitioners assessing an individual for MAID to make a reasonable effort to review the individual's health information and their personal information
  • requiring the presence of a family member to witness MAID provision, unless the physician or nurse practitioner providing MAID to the person determines that a family member is not reasonably available
    • In these circumstances, a family member is defined in Alberta’s MAID legislation as an adult who is a parent, spouse or partner, child, sibling, grandparent or grandchild. 
• limit MAID eligibility in Alberta to individuals 18 and over with capacity to make their own health care decisions whose natural death has been determined by a physician or nurse practitioner as being reasonably foreseeable, also known as Track 1 MAID, meaning that it is likely to happen within 12 months
  • MAID will be prohibited where an individual’s natural death is not reasonably foreseeable, also known as Track 2 MAID.
• prohibit MAID in Alberta for:
  • individuals under 18 years old
  • for persons whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness
  • for advance requests, and
  • for individuals without the capacity to make their own health-care decisions
• prohibit physicians and nurse practitioners in Alberta from making referrals for individuals to receive MAID eligibility assessments outside the province
• require MAID assessors and providers to meet training and educational requirements
• introduce mandatory sanctions for physicians and nurse practitioners who violate Alberta’s MAID legislation
• restrict regulated health professionals from providing information about MAID to their patients when they are providing health services to them, unless the patient brings it up
• restrict the public display of MAID information, such as posters, within health-care facilities
• declare that under the provincial MAID legislation physicians and nurse practitioners have the right to refuse to conduct MAID assessments or provide MAID in Alberta
• declare that under the provincial MAID legislation certain types of health-care facilities have a right to refuse to allow MAID assessment or provision on their premises. This includes allowing these facilities to create an ‘exclusion zone’ of 150 metres around their premises in which MAID services would not be permitted

Next steps

If passed, Bill 18, the Safeguards for Last Resort Termination of Life Act will come into force upon proclamation.

News

• MAID protections for Albertans with mental illness (March 18, 2026)