Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre has positioned himself as a strong advocate for decentralized finance in Canada.
Poilievre has been advocating for crypto and blockchain technology and is one of the few Canadian politicians, along with Maxime Bernier of the People’s Party, to speak positively about crypto.
Poilievre, who is running for the leadership position of the Conservative Party, has been defending his views on crypto, particularly bitcoin, and his rejection of CBDCs, on stage during debates against other candidates.
It appears that other politicians do not understand cryptocurrencies with Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis finding it odd that Poiliever would advocate for bitcoin but not CBDC, since both are digital currencies.
Poilievre corrects her when he says that bitcoin is not controlled by any central government.
With such little grasp of how bitcoin works by other politicians, it seems that Poilievre may be Canada’s only hope at making bitcoin and crypto legal tender in the future.
Here are some statements made by Poilievre about cryptocurrencies and our interpretations of them.
“I want to take control of money away from politicians and bankers, and give it back to the people”
The government and Central Bank controls our national currency and can print additional money at whim, which they have been doing. Canadians have no choice but to use the inflationary Canadian dollar, since that is the only currency considered legal tender. Poilievre wants to give Canadians the choice to use cryptocurrency as a means for payments instead. He is advocating for people to have the choice to use crypto.
“We need to give people the freedom to choose other money”
Poilievre is against banning cryptocurrencies. He thinks people should have the right to choose cryptocurrency if they want.
“Government is ruining the Canadian dollar”
We are at the highest rates of inflation in 30 years. People have no choice but to continue to use the Canadian dollar as legal currency, but Poilievre believes the government’s printing of cash is ruining the economy.
“Canada needs less financial control for politicians and bankers and more financial freedom for the people. That includes freedom to own and use crypto, tokens, smart contracts and decentralized finance.”
Poilievre advocates for decentralized finance in Canada. With the government having control over currency, and the possibility of a government-controlled digital currency, Poilievre believes this will lead to more government surveillance of people’s spending and money. Poilievre believes Canadians should have the right to use crypto and DeFi products and should not have their money habits under surveillance.
“The system is broken. It’s designed for bankers and bureaucrats, for big government and big corporations to get richer and more powerful, while destroying the wages of the working people. That’s what’s happening.”
If the rich continue to control money, the rich-poor gap gets bigger and bigger. Right now, working people are subject to the banks and government’s rules, which largely benefit themselves and the rich.
With inflation, wages are worth less and less, making people poorer, while the rich stay rich. DeFi gives people more opportunity to earn higher interest rates on their money, something which banks cannot compete with. Poilievre argues that regular working Canadians should have access to DeFi opportunities to grow their money and close the rich-poor gap.
“Central banks have been attacking the value of our natural currencies by printing $400 billion, leading to 30 year-high inflation, doubling of house prices and massive volatility in many areas of our economy. We should protect the value of our national currency rather than banning private money.”
Poilievre blames the government’s printing of cash for inflation and argues that instead of looking to ban cryptocurrencies, the government should be more focused on protecting the value of the Canadian dollar. Banning crypto does nothing to help inflation and soaring house prices.
“Choice and competition can give Canadians better money and financial products. Not only that, but it can also let Canadians opt-out of inflation with the ability to opt-in to cryptocurrencies. It’s time for Canadians to take back control of their money and their lives by making Canada the freest country on earth,”
Poilievre believes that cryptocurrency can give people freedom. He is advocating for people’s right to choose between using the Canadian dollar or cryptocurrencies. Canada is supposed to be one of the most free countries in the world, yet people do not have freedom over their own finances and currency choices. Poilievre is arguing that freedom means having the right to choose.
