Canada’s proposal to ban cryptopolitical donations moved a step closer to becoming law on Friday, advancing through Parliament with cross-party support and little opposition.
Bill C-25, the Strong and Free Elections Act, passed second reading in the House of Commons and was referred to committee for further review. In the Canadian system, such a vote indicates that lawmakers broadly agree on the basic principles of a bill before it faces detailed scrutiny and possible amendments.
The legislation would ban political contributions made in cryptocurrency, along with money orders and prepaid payment products, grouping them together as difficult-to-trace financing methods.
The ban would apply throughout the federal system: registered parties, electoral district associations, candidates, leaders and nomination candidates, and third parties that publish election advertising.
Recipients would have 30 days to return the illegal crypto contributions or remit them to the Receiver General, the Canadian equivalent of the US Treasury.
The bill’s main advocate on the floor was Kevin Lamoureux, the government’s Liberal parliamentary secretary to the House of Representatives leader, a junior official who helps manage the ruling party’s legislative agenda and acts as a spokesman during debate.
His keynote address addressed AI deepfakes, foreign interference, and administrative sanctions. According to an official transcript, the cryptocurrencies did not appear. When a liberal colleague asked him to choose between three priorities (foreign interference in nominations, transparency in political financing or artificial intelligence), Lamoureux chose AI.
Several Conservative MPs (the party is led by Pierre Poilievre, who promoted himself as a friend of cryptocurrencies during the last election) raised questions about political financing rules and how the new restrictions would be applied.
But the issue never became a central point of controversy.
The Conservatives supported sending the bill to committee, while other opposition parties expressed concerns about different elements of the legislation, but did not focus their arguments on cryptocurrencies.
The limited resistance also reflects how little cryptocurrencies have been used in Canadian politics.
Canada has technically allowed crypto donations since 2019, when Elections Canada classified them as in-kind, non-monetary contributions similar to property. But no major federal party has publicly embraced cryptocurrencies and no contributions have been revealed in recent elections.
C-25 is itself a repetition. Its predecessor, Bill C-65, contained identical cryptographic language and died when Parliament was prorogued (suspended without dissolving) in January 2025.
Canada’s chief electoral officer recommended stricter regulation of crypto donations in 2022 and then in November 2024 went on to recommend an outright ban, citing pseudoanonymity and the difficulty of verifying contributors’ identities.
The United States is moving in the opposite direction. The Federal Election Commission has allowed crypto donations to US campaigns since 2014.
Earlier this year, the United Kingdom passed a law banning crypto donations, citing concerns that digital assets could be used to obscure the origins of foreign money in British politics.
