Canadian Actress Claire Brosseau Chooses Assisted Dying After Years of Mental Illness

Melbourne 30 December: Acclaimed Canadian actress and comedian Claire Brosseau, 48, has announced her decision to end her life through Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) program after decades of suffering from severe mental illness.

Born in Montreal, Brosseau is fluent in both French and English and has worked extensively in film, television, theatre and comedy in Canada and the United States. Despite a successful career, she says she has been battling debilitating mental health conditions since her early teens.

Brosseau was diagnosed with manic depression at the age of 14 and later with anxiety, chronic suicidal ideation, eating disorders, personality disorder, substance abuse disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. In an open letter published on her Substack, she revealed that she has made multiple suicide attempts and has been treated by psychiatrists, psychologists and counsellors across the United States. She said a wide range of medications, therapies and even guided psychedelic treatments failed to bring lasting relief.

Claire Brosseau, 48, has revealed she plans to seek medical assistance in dying following a long struggle with mental health disorders. Photo: Collected

In 2021, after another severe depressive episode and a suicide attempt, Brosseau decided to apply for assisted dying under Canada’s MAiD program, which allows people with “grievous and irremediable medical conditions” to end their lives with medical support. However, access to MAiD for people whose sole underlying condition is mental illness has been delayed several times, pushing her eligibility to at least 2027.

As a result, Brosseau has filed a legal complaint in Ontario’s Superior Court, arguing that the delays violate her fundamental rights. She is pursuing the case alongside former war correspondent John Scully, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

In an interview with The New York Times, Brosseau described the contrast between her professional life and her private suffering. She said she could appear cheerful and functional on film sets, but would return to her hotel room each night overwhelmed by despair and thoughts of suicide.

After leaving school at 16, Brosseau attended an elite drama college in Quebec before moving to New York to study at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. She went on to appear in dozens of films, musicals and television projects, including work with James Franco and Daniel Stern, and regular appearances on Canadian shows such as Entertainment Tonight Canada and The Strombo Show.

Her career, however, was repeatedly disrupted by her mental health struggles. After a serious incident involving alcohol and drugs at the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards, she became sober and entered intensive psychiatric treatment. Although she experienced some stability for several years, she says her condition deteriorated again in 2021.

Brosseau later began hosting what she called “farewell dinners” with friends and family, telling them of her intention to end her life once legally permitted.

Her decision has reignited debate in Canada over whether people suffering solely from mental illness should be eligible for assisted dying, a question that continues to divide lawmakers, doctors and advocacy groups.