Trudeau Pooh-poohs Rival’s Crypto Enthusiasm

Canada’s Prime Minister of seven years, Justin Trudeau, took pot shots Monday at newly elected conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre over his crypto views

article-image

Source: Shutterstock

share
  • Opposition leader Poilievre’s leadership on crypto is irresponsible Trudeau said
  • Individuals who’ve followed the advice of Poilivere would have seen their life savings destroyed, the Prime Minister said

Canada’s Prime Minister has fired a shot across the bow of freshly elected opposition leader Pierre Poilievre, labeling his views on cryptocurrencies as irresponsible, and calling his leadership into question.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a gathered crowd at the Liberal caucus retreat on Monday, individuals could not hope to dodge macro headwinds by diverting their savings towards crypto.

“Telling people they can opt out of inflation by investing their savings in volatile cryptocurrencies is not responsible leadership,” the Prime Minister said. “By the way, anyone who followed that advice would have seen their life savings destroyed.”

Pierre Poilievre; Source: Shutterstock

Inflation, including other macroeconomic factors such as low wage growth and tailwind pandemic supply shortages, have all but forced individuals to seek alternative investments in a desperate attempt to stay ahead of multiple crises, including Russia’s war with Ukraine.

Trudeau’s comments come as little surprise, given the recent protests earlier in the year involving Canadian truckers who sought to circumvent capital controls placed on them by their government for refusing to adhere to COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

Bitcoin and other cryptos proved to be a useful tool to sidestep controversial financial sanctions, imposed by the Trudeau administration, which saw hundreds of thousands of dollars in BTC reach protestors’ pockets.

Canada’s Prime Minister later reiterated his stance toward crypto, while also taking a shot at Poilievre’s COVID-19 politics.

Loading Tweet..

Poilievre, who won a major landslide victory as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada on Saturday, has continued to publicly advocate for crypto and bitcoin.

Viewed as a means to “decentralize” the economy, reduce government involvement and pare back central bankers, Poilievre said in March if elected to lead the country, he would normalize crypto.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates (3).png

Research

South Korea is emerging as one of the most important global hubs for regulated digital assets, and Upbit sits at the center of this shift. Naver’s proposed acquisition could create the country’s dominant super app for payments, trading, and digital finance. This report breaks down the numbers, the regulatory tailwinds, the economics of the deal, and why the merger may unlock one of the most attractive asymmetries in Korea’s public markets.

article-image

As DevConnect kicks off in Buenos Aires, Vitalik and friends call for a reset

article-image

GPUs are starting to go dark even as data-center spending doubles — is a bubble on the horizon?

article-image

Risk assets sold off as doubts loom over a December rate cut, with BTC tumbling briefly below $95K this morning

by Carlos /
article-image

Jeff Yass bets that prediction markets could stop wars, Paul Atkins’ announcement on “tokens,” and more

article-image

Lido unveils a new buyback plan while BTC treasury companies slip below mNAV — can either model can truly return value?

article-image

If financial nihilism has driven you into memecoins, zero-day options, and sports betting, consider financial optimism instead