More Canadians are ending their lives with medical assistance, according to the third annual federal report on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID).

Data shows that 10,064 people died in 2021 with medical assistance, a 32 percent increase from 2020.

The report says that 3.3 percent of all deaths in Canada in 2021 were assisted deaths.

At the provincial level, the rate was higher in provinces like Quebec, at 4.7 percent, and British Columbia, at 4.8 percent.

Toronto law professor Trudeau Lemmens, who was a member of the Canadian Academies Council Expert Panel on Medical Assistance in Dying, wrote in an email to CTV News: "It is rising at a remarkable rate."

He pointed out that some areas of the country matched or quickly exceeded rates in Belgium and the Netherlands, where the practice has been in place for more than two decades.

Advocates say it is not surprising as Canadians have become more comfortable with MAID and some expect the rising rates may be leveling off.

Dr. Gene Marmuro, a family physician in Toronto, said. The report uses data collected from files submitted by doctors, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists across the country which include written requests for MAID.

Among the findings: all provinces saw increases in assisted deaths, ranging from 1.2 percent (Newfoundland and Labrador) to 4.8 percent (British Columbia); men (52.3 percent) were more than women (47.7 percent); the average age was 76.3 years; sixty-five percent of those who received medical assistance in dying had cancer.

Heart disease or strokes were cited in 19 percent of cases, followed by chronic lung diseases (12 percent) and neurological conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (12 percent); just over 2 percent of assisted deaths were for a new group of patients: those with chronic diseases but who did not die from their condition.

Documents show that 81 percent of written requests for MAID were approved.

Four percent of people who applied for medical assistance through written requests were also denied.

The report says some were considered ineligible because assessors felt the patient did not voluntarily seek MAID.

The majority of requests were denied because patients were deemed mentally incapable of making the decision.

But other countries with long-established programs reject more assisted death requests, Lemmens said, citing data showing that 12 to 16 percent of applicants in the Netherlands were told no.