Cryptocurrencies are not for politicians
The bill was introduced on Thursday and envisages amending the Canada Elections Act. In practice, the idea is to prohibit parties from accepting donations in cryptocurrencies and prepaid cards, which is intended to prevent anonymous and “hard-to-trace” payments.
The bill’s sponsor, Steven MacKinnon, said the measures were aimed at blocking foreign interference in his country’s elections.
We work to ensure that our elections remain free, fair and secure at all times
– he said.
For the bill to come into force, it must go through several votes and work in parliamentary committees, then be passed by the Senate and finally reach the desk of the Governor General of Canada.
It is worth recalling that a similar bill was proposed in 2024 by Dominic LeBlanc, then Minister of Public Safety, but was rejected before the second reading.
Cryptocurrency political donations have been allowed in Canada since 2019 and are treated similarly to real estate donations.
If the proposed regulations come into effect, deposits made using any of the prohibited payment methods must be refunded.
Penalties for violations can be up to twice the amount deposited and USD 25,000 for individuals and USD 100,000 for legal entities.
The act also envisages the extension of existing provisions prohibiting the generation of deepfakes, which allow people to impersonate parliamentary candidates and mislead voters.
The latter problem is real and was noticed in the run-up to the 2024 US elections, when a deepfake appeared online showing then-President Joe Biden urging voters not to vote.
Not only Canada
