Canadian Prime Minister Candidate Supports Free Use of Bitcoin as Currency

Canadian Conservative Party Prime Minister candidate Pierre Poilievre has publicly supported allowing Canadians to use Bitcoin as legal tender in the country.

On March 29, the YouTube channel BITCOIN posted a video showing Poilievre saying in front of a crowd of about 100 people at a local restaurant that Canadians need "more financial freedom." "This includes the freedom to own and use cryptocurrencies, tokens, smart contracts and decentralized finance," he added.

"People should have the freedom to choose other currencies. If the government misuses our cash, we should have the freedom to use other, higher quality cash."

Earlier this year, Canada’s Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government took a hard line on cryptocurrencies in response to the Freedom Convoy protests in Ontario. In January and February, Canadian officials froze protesters’ bank accounts and attempted to block all donations to truck drivers, including those made in cryptocurrencies.

Koleya Karringten, executive director of the Canadian Blockchain Consortium (CBC), told Cointelegraph today that the current “liberal government’s hostile approach to cryptocurrencies” is “due to a lack of awareness, understanding, and regulatory transparency.”

“It’s important to have a strong advocacy stance and educate governments about blockchain. Once they see the tax levels, they’ll know it’s not an industry for criminals, it’s an innovative industry.”

Karringten believes there are now more cryptocurrency holders after Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau’s invocation of the State of Emergency Act in February created complications. The complications could resemble a bank run, the nonprofit Catalyst said on Feb. 23.

Despite his enthusiasm, Poilievre's support for cryptocurrencies may still only resonate with a small segment of Canadians. Last October, research firm Ipsos had determined that only about 14 percent of Canadian citizens over the age of 18 owned cryptocurrencies. However, this figure is up from just 3% in 2016, indicating a huge increase.

The outlook for adoption looks bright, as Ipsos also found that around 25% of Canadian adults are considering purchasing cryptocurrencies in the future. This sentiment is in line with a study Cointelegraph reported in January, which concluded that 62 percent of 1,000 Canadian respondents were interested in accepting cryptocurrency payments by 2027.

Karringten is optimistic about the adoption of cryptocurrencies in Canada. In Alberta, where the CBC is located, there has been a "substantial increase" in expressions of interest from residents there, she said. She added:

"Banks can no longer ignore it. Politicians can no longer ignore it. They are all starting to ask 'how do we adopt this?'"

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