Pierre Poilevre, the candidate for Prime Minister of the Canadian Conservative Party, has spoken up in favor of the use of Bitcoin (BTC) by Canadian citizens as legal money. On Tuesday, a video was published of the PM candidate in which he was speaking in front of a hundred people in front of a restaurant. He said that the people of the country need more financial freedom. He went on to say that this meant the freedom to use and own cryptocurrency, smart contracts, tokens as well as decentralized finance. He stated that people should be given the freedom to choose their own money. According to the PM candidate, if the government is going to abuse their cash, then people should have the option of using other cash, which is of higher quality.
Earlier this year, a hard-line approach was taken against crypto by the Canadian government, which is currently headed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who belongs to the Liberal Party. This had been in response to the Freedom Convoy protests that were conducted in Ontario. Canadian officials had taken action against truckers by freezing their bank accounts and had also blocked donations, including those that were made in the form of crypto, both in the month of January and February.
KoleyaKarringten, Canadian Blockchain Consortium (CBC)’s executive director said on Tuesday that the Liberal government has created a hostile environment towards cryptocurrency. She said that this was primarily because of a lack of understanding, knowledge as well as regulatory clarity. She said that a strong advocacy position was needed for educating the government about blockchain. Karringten went on to say that once the government discovers the amount of tax revenue this industry can generate, they would come to regard it as one of innovation instead of one meant for criminals only.
According to Karringten, after the steps taken by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau back in February for the Emergencies Act, more people had turned towards cryptocurrencies. Catalyst, a non-profit organization, stated on February 23rd that these complications were quite similar to a bank run. Even though Poilevre is very fervent, it is important to note that his support of crypto will only resonate with a limited number of Canadians. Ipsos, a research firm, had concluded last October that there were only 14% of people in Canada over the age of 18 who owned crypto. But, this number indicates a massive growth rate because it had only been 3% back in 2016.
There is a bright outlook for adoption, as Ipsos found that about 25% of adults in Canada are interested in buying crypto in the future. In January, a study had been conducted, which showed that out of 1,000 people who responded, 62% had said that they would want to make crypto payments by 2027. Karringten also has the same outlook where crypto adoption in Canada is concerned. She said that residents of Alberta had expressed a great deal of interest in crypto, as that is where CBC operates. She also said that banks and politicians cannot ignore crypto anymore and everyone is now wondering how to adopt it.
