Pierre Poilievre, a known crypto supporter who is running as prime minister of Canada, was voted as the new leader of the country’s Conservative Party.
Poilievre is a proponent of cryptocurrencies and has stated that, if elected prime minister, he would work with provincial authorities to disentangle the current regulatory web controlling digital assets.
Poilievre won the election decisively after a seven-month campaign, garnering 22,993 of the under 33,800 electoral points.
The former cabinet minister and long-time Ontario member of parliament has a personal financial interest in cryptocurrencies, which he has endorsed as a hedge against inflation during his campaign.
Poilievre demonstrated his support for cryptocurrencies by buying a sandwich in an Ontario restaurant using Bitcoin, during his leadership campaign.
Image: SuperCryptoNews
On Sandwiches And Crypto
According to political analysts, it was part of a political antic designed to garner support for his campaign. But, it seems his buying of the shawarma has worked in his favor.
Based on his disclosure to the federal ethics commissioner on May 4, Poilievre’s assets 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 in order to “decentralize” the economy and lessen the influence of central bankers.
Poilievre has taken a stand against the Bank of Canada’s policy because, like some conservative economists, he views the government’s ability to print money as a tax.
Canadian Prime Minister Candidate Lobbies For Crypto
“The government is wrecking the Canadian dollar, so Canadians should be permitted 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 with Poilievre about “sound money.”
Meanwhile, a report released by Bank of Canada last June disclosed that the number of Bitcoin holders in Canada soared three-fold from 2020 to 2021.
The central bank appointed an official to supervise regulatory efforts surrounding stablecoins, while the Canadian Securities Administrators required that all crypto companies seeking to conduct business in the country comply with anti-money laundering and cybersecurity regulations.
Saturday’s election was won by Poilievre with 68% of party members’ votes. If elected prime minister, he pledged to assist those who are barely scraping 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
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