10 years since MAID in Quebec, woman who fought to expand it hopes Canada catches up

Seven years into an early onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis, Sandra Demontigny's home is full of reminders.

A routine chart stuck to her apartment door prompting her to take her keys and bag. Post-it notes and family photos flood the fridge. A medication alarm beeps in the kitchen of her independent seniors' living facility in Lévis, Que. 

Demontigny might forget dates, times and daily tasks that were once second nature, but the 46-year-old still remembers what led to her prominent role in advocating for the expansion of medical assistance in dying (MAID) in Quebec.

It was just after her diagnosis in 2018 — a moment she had dreaded for decades after seeing her father suffer from genetic early onset Alzheimer's.

“I decided that if one day I have this disease, I don't want to go through that,” she said. 

Demontigny made headlines across the country and internationally for her plea for advanced requests for MAID — even participating as a witness in a federal 2022 special joint committee. 

She argued she should be allowed to choose MAID while she was still capable of consenting to care. 

In October 2024, Quebec moved forward with its plan to authorize early requests for medical assistance in dying despite concerns raised by the federal government.

As the province marks 10 years since MAID was legalized through Bill 52, experts say Quebec continues to be a leader in the space and Demontigny hopes it can help set an example — pushing the rest of Canada to follow suit. 

“Try to fight too,” she said.  “I was afraid that I [would] miss the train.”

For Demontigny's son Sacha Fontaine, it was no surprise his mom became a figure in the movement to expand MAID. He says she didn’t have much of a choice. 

“She had to do this work or else she was going to be imprisoned in her own body,” he said, sitting on the couch in his mom’s apartment. 

“More than this, I think it was a fight for us because we're going to be next,” he added, referring to the genetic condition making some members of his family predisposed to early onset Alzheimer's. 

Elderly people might die with the disease, but not always from the disease, says Demontigny. But getting diagnosed in her 30s, she says “the body is good, it's just the brain is bad.”