Canada Races to Finalize Stablecoin Rules Before Budget Reveal – Why?

Canada is moving quickly to finalize long-awaited rules for stablecoins ahead of its federal budget announcement on November 4, as policymakers rush to keep pace with the United States and prevent a loss of financial sovereignty amid rising use of U. S. dollar-backed ￰0￱ to Bloomberg , government officials have spent weeks holding closed-door consultations with regulators and industry stakeholders to develop a regulatory framework for ￰1￱ to Bloomberg, Canada is accelerating the development of its stablecoin regulatory framework, with details expected to be officially announced in the federal budget to be presented by Finance Minister François‑Philippe Champagne on November ￰2￱ officials… — Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) October 27, 2025 The rules are expected to be outlined in the upcoming budget to be presented by Finance Minister François-Philippe ￰3￱ familiar with the discussions said the government is now working toward addressing stablecoin oversight directly in the budget ￰4￱ move comes amid growing concern from policymakers, market participants, and economists that Canada is falling behind other major economies, particularly the United States, in establishing clear rules for the stablecoin ￰5￱ Urged to Act on Stablecoin Rules or Risk Losing Capital to U.

S. Stablecoins, cryptocurrencies pegged to traditional currencies like the U. S. dollar, have grown into a central part of the global digital payments ￰6￱ are often issued by private companies such as Tether and Circle and backed by assets like ￰7￱ bills to maintain price ￰8￱ United States recently passed the GENIUS Act , granting regulators the authority to supervise stablecoin issuers, set reserve standards, and enforce anti–money laundering ￰9￱ new law classified compliant stablecoins as payment instruments, giving the U.

S. a clear framework that the industry has widely ￰10￱ contrast, Canada still lacks dedicated ￰11￱ have said stablecoins could fall under existing securities or derivatives laws, but industry experts argue they should be treated as payment instruments ￰12￱ Ruffolo, vice chair of the Council of Canadian Innovators, has urged Ottawa to act swiftly, warning that inaction could push capital south of the ￰13￱ a clear framework, he said, Canadian investors and savers may increasingly turn to ￰14￱ to transfer funds internationally, effectively enriching American institutions and shifting financial data and liquidity outside the ￰15￱ from Desjardins supports that ￰16￱ exchange strategist Mirza Shaheryar Baig noted that roughly 99% of global stablecoin value is pegged to the ￰17￱ the GENIUS Act requires issuers to hold primarily U.

S. Treasuries, he said, foreign adoption is fueling new and sustained demand for ￰18￱ warned that widespread use of ￰19￱ stablecoins in Canada could weaken the country’s monetary sovereignty and reduce the Bank of Canada’s control over its money ￰20￱ central bank itself has echoed the ￰21￱ Morrow, the Bank of Canada’s executive director of payments, supervision, and oversight, said in September that Canada must “weigh the merits of federal stablecoin regulation, similar to what other countries have done.”) has also expressed concern over the lack of regulatory clarity, calling for consistent national ￰22￱ New Rules Keep Canada Competitive in the Digital Payments Era?

The absence of legislation has already begun to show economic consequences. A Desjardins report in October cautioned that Canada risks falling behind the ￰23￱ Europe, both of which have implemented stablecoin frameworks.) March 27, 2025 The federal government’s fragmented regulatory structure, split between federal agencies, the Bank of Canada, OSFI, and 13 provincial securities commissions, has slowed ￰24￱ hope the upcoming budget will unify these efforts and provide a coherent framework for stablecoins similar to the ￰25￱ issue also carries political ￰26￱ an election on the horizon, the Liberal government faces pressure to demonstrate progress on financial ￰27￱ Minister-designate Mark Carney, a former Bank of England and Bank of Canada governor, has previously expressed skepticism about cryptocurrencies , though he has acknowledged in his book Value(s) that central bank–issued digital currencies could represent “the most likely future of money.”