Two things happened on Parliament Hill on Wednesday, 7 October 2026. In the House of Commons foyer, Justice Minister Sean Fraser and Health Minister Marjorie Michel announced that the government will introduce legislation “this fall” on medical assistance in dying (MAID). Hours later, the House voted down a Conservative private member’s bill on the same subject.
Fraser said: “Canada has made a decision not to move forward with the expansion that is scheduled in the Criminal Code of medical assistance in dying in circumstances where mental illness is the sole basis.” He added: “While there is not a perfect consensus on this issue, we believe this is the correct approach at this particular time.” According to National Post, Fraser said the exclusion, now set to expire next March, would be kept “on an indeterminate basis.”
The vote and the announcement are not the same thing. C-218 is dead at second reading. The government’s bill does not exist yet in any form Parliament can read.
The vote: C-218 defeated 141–187
House of Commons Journals No. 147 (7 October, unrevised) record the deferred division on Tamara Jansen’s motion, seconded by Andrew Lawton, to read Bill C-218 a second time and send it to the Justice committee. It was negatived 141–187 (Division No. 177), with 6 members paired. The House’s vote record breaks the yeas down as 133 Conservatives, 5 New Democrats, Green MP Elizabeth May and two Liberals: Marilyn Gladu, who left the Conservatives earlier this year, and Kent MacDonald. The nays were 166 Liberals and 21 Bloc Québécois MPs.
C-218 is a one-clause bill. It would replace Criminal Code subsection 241.2(2.1) with: “For the purposes of subsection (2), a mental disorder is not a grievous and irremediable medical condition.” Coordinating clauses would keep that exclusion in place whichever provision came into force first. The current subsection says “a mental illness is not considered to be an illness, disease or disability”, and it is the provision Parliament scheduled to lapse in 2027.
Why the government voted no
According to CBC, Fraser said he was announcing the policy before the bill was ready, in part to explain why the government would not support C-218. He raised two objections:
- Wording. C-218 uses the term “mental disorders”, which he said could be read to cover neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s. People with those diseases are eligible for MAID today.
- Scope. C-218 says nothing about advance consent.
CBC reports that Jansen accused the minister of playing games “hours before” the vote. She called the government’s plan a “phantom bill” and said the Conservatives had been open to changing the bill’s wording. National Post quotes Lawton: “We agree that MAID should not extend to people with only a mental illness.” He also accused the government of “eroding that consensus” by bundling the exclusion with advance requests.
What the government bill would do, as described
There is no bill text yet. Everything below comes from what the ministers said on the record, as reported by CBC and National Post:
- Keep the exclusion for mental illness as the sole underlying condition, with no end date.
- Allow MAID for people “who have provided consent at a time when they still have capacity but know that they have been diagnosed with an illness that will take that capacity from them subsequently.” CBC reports the illness would have to be incurable and cause intolerable suffering.
- Change the Criminal Code so that a provider who complies with provincially legislated safeguards “will not be treated as a criminal”. Provinces would decide whether to permit advance requests at all.
National Post reports that Fraser gave no date beyond “the fall” and said the bill’s substance would not differ from Wednesday’s announcement. Both outlets tie the decision to the June report of the special joint committee, which recommended keeping the exclusion indefinitely.
What this piece refuses
Do not report that Ottawa has “banned” MAID for mental illness. No bill has been tabled, and the 17 March 2027 date is still law. Do not report that the Liberals voted to “expand MAID to the mentally ill.” The government says it will legislate the same exclusion; it voted against a different bill. Do not describe advance requests as MAID for “people unable to consent.” As described, consent would be given while the person is capable, and critics’ concerns about who decides the timing are a debate about safeguards. Do not present unpublished bill details as fact.
Contested: Conservatives say C-218 did what the government now promises and that bundling advance requests divides a consensus. The government says C-218’s wording was too broad and incomplete. National Post quotes the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition and Inclusion Canada opposing advance requests, saying the person’s consent at the time is the key protection. The same report shows the other side through children’s author Robert Munsch, who was approved for MAID after a dementia diagnosis. He said he would have to pick the moment “when I can still ask for it.” The verified record is the vote, the bill text, the current Criminal Code, and the ministers’ on-record statements.
Bottom line
Verified as of 8 October 2026: the House rejected C-218 at second reading, 141–187, on 7 October. The same day the government promised a fall bill to keep the mental-illness-alone exclusion indefinitely and to allow advance requests where provinces permit them. Until that bill is tabled and passed, the exclusion still lapses on 17 March 2027. Watch the Order Paper for the government bill and whether it splits the two issues.
