Canada’s proposed Bill C-25, the Strong and Free Elections Act, has cleared a key vote in the House of Commons, moving the government closer to blocking cryptocurrency donations to political parties, candidates and third-party campaign groups.
The legislation passed second reading, meaning lawmakers agreed the bill should move forward for committee review, where it can be studied in detail and amended before a final vote.
At the centre of the proposal is a plan to stop election-related donations made through digital assets such as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The government says the change is aimed at improving transparency, enforcing contribution limits and reducing risks linked to foreign interference or hard-to-trace funding sources.
Crypto donations have drawn attention because blockchain transactions can involve privacy tools, offshore wallets or identity complexities that may make campaign finance compliance harder to verify compared with traditional banking methods.
The bill is broader than crypto alone. It also seeks to modernize election rules, strengthen enforcement powers and improve disclosure requirements for political financing in Canada.
One notable section addresses situations where an ineligible contribution is received by a third party. Under the proposed rules, the money or asset must be returned within 30 days, or if that is not possible, it must be destroyed or disposed of unused.
The move comes as Canada continues developing wider oversight for digital assets, including work on stablecoin regulation, crypto investment fund rules, custodianship standards and consumer protections.
If eventually passed into law, Canada would join a growing list of countries tightening political finance rules around cryptocurrency as digital assets become more common in the mainstream economy.