Source: Coindesk; Translated by Wuzhu, Golden Finance
After nearly a decade in office, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to step down.
Trudeau is seen as part of the Canadian federal government's resistance to digital assets, so a more friendly successor could be beneficial for cryptocurrency, even though provinces have always been dominant.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation on Monday, which could pave the way for a government in Canada that is less resistant to cryptocurrency, although provincial governments play a dominant role in determining the future of Canada's digital assets.
Trudeau stated at a press conference, "I intend to resign as party leader and Prime Minister after the party elects a new leader." He mentioned that "internal strife" disrupted his governance. "I cannot be the one to carry the liberal standard into the next election."
Trudeau announced that he would resign as leader of the Liberal Party, a position he has held for 11 years, as well as the position of Prime Minister that he has held since 2015. Critics of Trudeau within the crypto community condemned the government's sanctions on digital wallets during the 2022 Freedom Convoy protests.
The government's move to freeze cryptocurrency accounts has resonated outside Canada and has become a rallying cry for Republican lawmakers during the 2024 election. These politicians view this situation as a prime example of the dangers of allowing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), as it could lead to government intervention in cryptocurrency transactions.
Canada's general election is set to take place in October, and according to polls, Conservative Pierre Poilievre holds a strong advantage. He has also gained cross-border support from many supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Poilievre has been a vocal supporter of digital assets in the past but has been relatively silent on the topic recently.
However, in Canada, securities are a provincial matter, and without a national securities regulatory body like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the influence of the next leader of the Liberal Party (and thus the Prime Minister) or Poilievre is limited.
In contrast, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), an umbrella regulatory body composed of provincial regulators, will have more say in the next steps for cryptocurrency development.
One of the potential candidates to succeed Trudeau is Mark Carney (he has not yet officially announced his candidacy as the campaign has not begun), who comes from the Bank of Canada and has much to say about cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.
He stated in a speech at the Bank for International Settlements in 2021, "The core tokens of programmable networks must maintain their token value."
Carney also stated that strictly regulated stablecoins are the only way for them to succeed, and if they are strictly regulated, "then what is the difference between them and CBDCs?"