Poilievre’s cryptocurrency-inflation comments prompted bureaucratic research: documents

Senior federal bureaucrats examined whether cryptocurrencies protect against inflation not long after Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre made the claim as a candidate in the Conservative leadership race, according to an internal government document.

The Privy Council Office, whose role is to provide non-partisan advice to the prime minister and cabinet, prepared a briefing note on the viability of digital currencies for the head of the public service weeks after Poilievre’s comments in late March.

The briefing note, obtained by The Canadian Press through an access-to-information request, says that “in light of inflationary pressures, some proponents have touted the ability of cryptoassets like bitcoin and ethereum to ‘decentralize’ the Canadian economy, providing a substitute for the national currency.” But cryptocurrencies haven’t provided protection against inflation and serve as poor substitutes to the Canadian dollar for day-to-day transactions, says the document, which was delivered to the clerk of the Privy Council at the beginning of May. Read more: Cryptocurrencies not a way to ‘opt out of inflation’: Bank of Canada official The document, which was only lightly redacted by access-to-information officials, says the price instability of the assets has been “extremely volatile.” That limits their use as “a store of value, a key feature of a well-functioning currency,” it says. “Cryptoassets have also not hedged against inflation, with most usage being speculative and with price behaviour consistent with that of risky assets.” A spokesperson for the Privy Council Office said the briefing note was prepared to provide the clerk with background information on cryptoassets, “including information on whether they