Canada Approves Bill C-15, Establishing Stablecoin Framework with Bank of Canada Oversight

• Bill C-15 introduces a new Stablecoin Act, a huge turning point for crypto in Canada.
• The Bank of Canada will act as the primary overseer for the new stablecoin framework.
• Already regulated banks and financial firms may be exempt from some of the requirements.

Canada approved Bill C-15, creating a new stablecoin framework with the Bank of Canada as the main regulator. The move brings fiat-backed stablecoins into the financial system and sets rules for reserves, redemption, and registration, marking a major step toward regulated digital payments.

After receiving Royal Assent, Bill C-15 establishes Canada’s first comprehensive framework for fiat-backed stablecoins. The law brings stablecoin issuers under financial oversight and removes the previous regulatory gray area.

Under the framework, issuers must register with the Bank of Canada and maintain full 1:1 backing with liquid assets. They must also allow redemption at face value and follow governance and disclosure rules.

The Department of Finance will handle detailed rulemaking, while the Bank of Canada will supervise compliance.

The Bank of Canada will be the main overseer of the new framework, and the Department of Finance will handle the rulemaking.

Notably, the rules mainly target non‑bank stablecoin issuers. Already regulated banks and financial firms may be exempt from some of these requirements.

As for the timeline, draft rules are still being written, and full compliance will roll out over 12 to 18 months. An operational launch probably won’t happen until 2027.

There have been some interesting developments recently regarding Canada and digital finance.

For instance, Deloitte and Stablecorp teamed up to build infrastructure for QCAD, a Canadian dollar stablecoin. Additionally, Canada is rolling out open banking rules, another sign of a bigger shift toward digitalized finance.

The country also introduced Bill C-25 (the Strong and Free Elections Act) to ban crypto donations across the board. The ban would cover political parties, candidates, election groups, and third‑party advertisers.

That said, despite the progress with Bill C-15, it’s still unknown how strict the Bank of Canada will be on reserves and custody, or if foreign stablecoins like USDT or USDC will face additional restrictions. On top of that, there’s no official statement on how fast Canadian banks will adopt or integrate stablecoins.

Related:CIRO Issues Tough New Crypto Custody Rules to Prevent Fraud in Canada