It was 2022 — and during a debate on Canadian television, a politician called Pierre Poilievre was battling to become Conservative Party leader.
Facing off against five rivals, he railed against the government’s handling of the Freedom Convoy movement, which saw the country’s Emergencies Act used to freeze the bank accounts of protesters.
“Now there’s a proposal to create a central bank digital currency, which would involve people depositing their money with the government itself. This gives massive new powers for surveillance, control and censorship — and gives the state far too much control over our money. That’s why I would ban a CBDC.”
His comments were immediately seized upon by opponent Leslyn Lewis, who seemed bemused by Poilievre’s stance.
“Mr Poilievre encouraged people to buy Bitcoin, which is a digital currency. So I’m quite surprised he is saying now that he would ban digital currency, as if he does not know that Bitcoin is a digital currency. He also encouraged people to cash in their fiat currency to buy Bitcoin. If they had done that, they would have lost $37,000 between then and today.”
This was a massive gift for the young politician — an open goal — that exposed widespread misunderstanding about what BTC actually was. To a handful of titters, whoops and cheers in the audience, he replied:
“Well that’s just false. One, Bitcoin is not a central bank digital currency, obviously. It’s not controlled by any central bank anywhere in the world. Two, people can make their own investment decisions. I’ve simply said they should be free to decide whether or not they want to use Bitcoin. I don’t want to be like Communist China and ban Bitcoin or other technologies.”
Ahead of the Curve?
Let’s rewind the tape a little bit.
Back in March 2022, Poilievre was filmed purchasing a chicken shawarma from a Middle Eastern restaurant using Bitcoin — becoming the first-ever person at this business to do so. As he completed the transaction in front of a crowd, he urged voters to “take control of their money.”
This amounted to pretty bad timing for the leadership hopeful. As the crypto market was rocked by a slew of bankruptcies, BTC’s price fell off a cliff. By the time of the TV debate six weeks later, it had plunged 38%.
Poilievre also attracted criticism from politicians in rival parties, who accused him of shilling a “Ponzi scheme” and causing seniors across Canada to lose a substantial amount of their life savings.
But a lot has changed over the past three years.
The Bank of Canada has announced that it’s “shelved” plans to launch a CBDC for now — with its development put on ice.
Anyone who bought Bitcoin on the day Poilievre shelled out for a chicken shawarma would have doubled their money — and then some.
That’s not all. He also ended up winning that Conservative leadership battle pretty comfortably, with 70.7% of the vote, making him the only candidate to surge to victory in the first ballot for almost 20 years.
And now, as we head into 2025, there’s a very real chance that Poilievre could become Canada’s next prime minister.
A Changing Political Climate
After nine years at the helm, Justin Trudeau dramatically announced he was planning to step down as PM earlier this month — meaning someone else will lead the Liberal Party into a general election that must take place in 2025.
He had faced growing internal political turmoil, and was accused of inaction as Donald Trump threatens to slap a 25% tariff on goods imported into the U.S. from Canada.
A cost-of-living crisis has seen his government’s standing in opinion polls fall sharply, with the Conservatives’ popularity rising. Voters participating in these surveys widely believe Poilievre is best-placed to deal with a more combative Trump administration.
And while in opposition, Poilievre has railed against surging inflation, accused the Bank of Canada of exacerbating the problem through quantitative easing, and vowed to put more money in voters’ pockets. He has previously cited an oft-repeated claim that BTC serves as a hedge against inflation — remarks that led to a backlash in the press.
Another Pro-Bitcoin Politician?
In many ways, Poilievre has been ahead of the curve when it comes to embracing Bitcoin — vocally expressing his support for crypto before it was politically fashionable.
But given Trump campaigned aggressively on this issue, he wouldn’t be the first Bitcoin-friendly politician to enter office.
Questions are also being raised about whether Poilievre would actually unveil his own pro-crypto policies on the campaign trail — amid fears it could deter more voters than it attracts.
Nonetheless, prominent Bitcoiners have thrown their support behind the Conservative — and over on Polymarket, the latest odds suggest Poilievre has an 86% chance of sweeping to power.
Canada has often been a first mover when it comes to Bitcoin — launching ETFs based on its spot price a full three years before the U.S.
A proposal to transform Vancouver into a “Bitcoin-friendly city” was also recently approved, which could eventually lead to crypto being accepted as a payment method — and BTC held in reserve by public offices.
Poilievre is not without controversy. He’s been likened to a Canadian version of Trump — espousing conspiracy theories and pledging to defund the country’s public broadcaster. But such comparisons might be a little far-fetched, and he’s gone on the record of being in favor of immigration for those who “work hard, contribute [and] follow the rules.”
There’s no escaping it: 2025 is the year when Bitcoin is set to become a wider issue on the political stage. While not guaranteed, a Poilievre win would reinforce that narrative.
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