Source: Coindesk; Compiled by Wuzhu, Jinse Finance
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to step down after nearly a decade in office.
Trudeau has been seen as part of the Canadian federal government's resistance to digital assets, so a more friendly alternative may benefit cryptocurrencies, although the provinces have been in the driver's seat.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation on Monday, which could pave the way for Canada to establish a government that is less resistant to cryptocurrencies, although provincial governments play a leading role in determining the future of Canada's digital assets.
Trudeau said at a press conference: "I intend to resign as party leader and Prime Minister once a new leader is chosen." He said "internal strife" had disrupted his governance. "I cannot be the one to bring the Liberal standard into the next election."
Trudeau said he would step down from his 11-year tenure as Liberal Party leader and the Prime Minister role he has held since 2015. Critics of Trudeau in the crypto community have condemned the government's sanctions on digital wallets during the 2022 Freedom Convoy protests.
The government's freezing of crypto accounts has resonated beyond Canada and become a battle cry for Republican lawmakers in the 2024 U.S. election. These politicians are using this as a prime example of the dangers of allowing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), as it could enable government intervention in crypto transactions.
The Canadian election is scheduled for October, and according to polls, Conservative Pierre Poilievre holds a strong advantage. He has also won cross-border support from many backers of former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Poilievre has been a vocal supporter of digital assets in the past, but has been relatively quiet on the topic recently.
However, in Canada, securities are a provincial matter, and due to the lack of a national securities regulator like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the influence of the next Liberal Party leader (and thus Prime Minister) or Poilievre is limited.
Instead, the umbrella regulatory body, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), composed of provincial regulators, will have more say in the next steps for cryptocurrencies.
One potential candidate to succeed Trudeau is Mark Carney, who, although he has not officially announced a run (as the campaign has not yet started), comes from the Bank of Canada and has served as Governor of the Bank of England, and has much to say about cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.
In a 2021 speech at the Bank for International Settlements, he stated: "The core tokens of programmable networks must maintain token value."
Carney also said that strictly regulated stablecoins are the only way for them to succeed, and if they are strictly regulated, "then what's the difference between them and a CBDC?"
