Crypto Backer and Prime Minister Bet Gets Job as Canada’s Party Leader

Pierre Poilievre, a well-known crypto supporter who is running for Prime Minister of Canada, was named the new leader of the country’s Conservative Party.

Poilievre is an advocate of cryptocurrencies and has stated that if elected prime minister, he would work with provincial authorities to unravel the current regulatory web that controls digital assets.

Poilievre won the election decisively after a seven-month campaign, receiving 22,993 of the less than 33,800 electoral votes.

The former cabinet minister and longtime Ontario MP has a personal financial interest in cryptocurrencies, which he has supported as a hedge against inflation during the campaign.

Poilievre demonstrated his support for cryptocurrencies by buying a sandwich at a restaurant in Ontario using Bitcoin, during his leadership campaign.

Image: SuperCryptoNews

On sandwiches and crypto

According to political analysts, it was part of a political stunt designed to drum up support for his campaign. But it seems his purchase of the shawarma has worked in his favor.

Based on his May 4 disclosure to the federal ethics commissioner, Poilievre’s holdings include shares of Purpose Bitcoin, a Canadian exchange-traded fund (ETF) that holds cryptocurrencies.

In March of this year, Poilievre stated that a Canadian government under his leadership would do more to normalize cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum to “decentralize” the economy and reduce the influence of central bankers.

Poilievre has taken issue with Bank of Canada policy because, like some conservative economists, he views the government’s ability to print money as a tax.

Canadian Prime Ministerial Candidate Lobbying for Crypto

“The government is destroying the Canadian dollar, so Canadians should be allowed to use alternative currencies, such as Bitcoin,” Poilievre said.

During the height of the trucker protest in February of this year, the Toronto Star reported that Greg Foss, who secured $830,000 worth of Bitcoin for the demonstration, frequently spoke to Poilievre about “sound money.”

Meanwhile, a report released by the Bank of Canada last June revealed that the number of Bitcoin holders in Canada rose threefold from 2020 to 2021.

The central bank appointed an official to oversee regulatory efforts around stablecoins, while Canadian securities regulators required all crypto companies looking to do business in the country to comply with anti-money laundering and cybersecurity regulations.

Saturday’s election was won by Poilievre with 68% of the party members’ votes. If elected prime minister, he promised to help those who are barely getting by.

Crypto total market cap at $1.03 trillion on the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com

Featured image from Toronto Star, Chart from TradingView.com