Justin Trudeau on Cryptocurrency Regulation
Justin Trudeau’s government generally viewed cryptocurrency through the lens of consumer protection and financial crime prevention during his tenure as Prime Minister.
His administration positioned itself to apply existing financial regulations to digital assets, focusing on concerns like money laundering and terrorist financing rather than adopting a purely prohibitive or overly permissive stance.
The overall approach under Trudeau appeared to be one of measured oversight, intending to maintain financial system integrity as the cryptocurrency space evolved.
Context
As Prime Minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025, Justin Trudeau presided over a period of significant growth and scrutiny for the global cryptocurrency market. His government was responsible for setting the national regulatory framework through various agencies, including the Department of Finance and the Bank of Canada.
This context is important because Trudeau’s policy responses were often framed around broader themes of financial security, innovation versus risk, and international compliance standards.
Actions Taken
- Regulatory EnforcementThe government worked to ensure that existing regulations, particularly those from the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), applied to cryptocurrency exchanges and dealers as dealers in money services businesses.
- Financial Crime StrategyThe administration maintained focus on strengthening the framework to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, which inherently covers the use of virtual currencies for illicit purposes.
Criticism
Some within the cryptocurrency industry criticized the perceived slowness and regulatory uncertainty in developing a clear, bespoke framework for digital assets.
Critics sometimes argued that the government was lagging behind international peers in establishing a definitive regulatory regime for digital assets.