A new Canadian bill would bar political parties and third parties from accepting cryptocurrency donations, along with money orders and prepaid cards, citing difficulties in tracing funds and risks of election interference. The Strong and Free Elections Act aims to keep Canadian elections “free, fair and secure at all times,” Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon said.
The office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections told Cointelegraph that “the rapid and ongoing change in digital payments creates significant challenges and risks for law enforcement, including for our office.” Both Elections Canada and the Commissioner’s office say digital payment methods, including crypto, pose transparency and enforcement challenges.
Elections Canada and the Commissioner of Canada Elections have distinct roles under the Canada Elections Act (CEA): Elections Canada administers federal elections and the financing regime, while the Commissioner ensures compliance and enforcement. For the commissioner’s office, cryptocurrencies present “potential difficulties associated with tracing the source of funding,” a spokesman said.
Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault has expressed similar concerns. At an October Procedure and House Affairs Committee appearance he warned that certain instruments “do not provide transparency as to the original source of the contributor.” He argued there is no valid reason to use prepaid instruments or cards for political donations and said such methods are inappropriate for financing parties and candidates.
Under current law, cryptocurrency is treated as a legal “non-monetary” contribution. Elections Canada says political entities must report the name and address of contributors for contributions over $200. Contributions up to $200, if made by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident not in the crypto business, are treated as “nil”—a provision intended to cover small-value in-kind gifts like meals or lending a personal vehicle.
Perrault warned that this framework becomes problematic with crypto. “Although contributions of cryptocurrencies are non-monetary contributions under the CEA, the reality of cryptocurrency is that it functions increasingly like money,” he told lawmakers. He said crypto contributions could allow “unregulated resources” to enter the federal political financing regime and formally recommended that parliament “prohibit making contributions in cryptocurrency and untraceable instruments.”
Elections Canada noted that cryptocurrencies are not widely used to raise federal funds in Canada but also said the reporting framework does not require entities to disclose when a contribution was made via cryptocurrency, so it lacks official figures.
Crypto has appeared in Canadian politics before. In 2022, organizers of the large anti-vaccine-mandate “Freedom Convoy” used cryptocurrencies for donations after the government froze bank accounts under the Emergencies Act. CBC reported the convoy raised over $20 million in crypto, with roughly $8 million unaccounted for by April 2022. Lawyers and regulators noted limitations of freeze orders against cryptocurrency wallets.
Crypto reentered political conversation during the 2025 federal election when Conservative candidate Pierre Poilievre publicly promoted crypto and blockchain, even using the Bitcoin Lightning Network at a campaign stop. The episode highlighted how crypto can be both a campaign talking point and a practical payment method.
Canada’s broader crypto policy has been cautious but open. The country approved a spot Bitcoin ETF in 2021, and Parliament has moved to regulate stablecoins: the Canada Stablecoin Act, introduced as part of the budget, would give the Bank of Canada authority to regulate stablecoins. Industry participants told Cointelegraph that other policy priorities—stablecoin regulation, tokenization, and payments modernization—may be more critical than political-donation rules, which remain marginal in their view. The industry does not broadly support a ban, one source said, but believes other regulatory changes present clearer opportunities.
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