Canada: crypto and stablecoin regulation (as of 1 November 2026)

As of 2026-11-01

Canada's Stablecoin Act (S.C. 2026, c. 3, s. 600), enacted by the Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1, received Royal Assent on 26 March 2026. The Act is not in force: the Justice Laws consolidation, current to 30 September 2026, notes "[Note: Act not in force.]", and its provisions "come into force on a day or days to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council" (s. 97). Its rules include the rule that a person must not issue a stablecoin unless their name is on the Bank of Canada's list of issuers, the ban on interest or yield, the par redemption rule and the reserve rule. Proposed Stablecoin Regulations were prepublished in Part I of the Canada Gazette on 24 October 2026 for comment; the notice says the intention is for them to come into force in fall 2027, alongside the Act, on a day or days fixed by order of the Governor in Council. The Department of Finance says the framework will only regulate the issuance of fiat-backed stablecoins by non-financial institutions. For trading platforms, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) set out an interim approach in CSA Staff Notice 21-333 of 5 October 2023. The rows on the Stablecoin Act quote enacted text that is marked not in force; the rows marked as proposed quote the Gazette notice, not final law.

This page states what the government sources say. It is not legal advice.

Status as of 1 November 2026

Status	Rule	Since / from	Source
Pending	Stablecoin Act, S.C. 2026, c. 3, s. 600, enacted by the Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1. The Justice Laws consolidation (current to 30 September 2026) notes "[Note: Act not in force.]"; under s. 97 its provisions "come into force on a day or days to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council". It includes sections 15 (issuing), 16 (Bank of Canada registry), 32 (interest or yield), 34 (representations), 35 (redemption) and 37 (reserve).	26 March 2026 (Royal Assent); in force on a day or days fixed by order (none fixed in the sources)	Justice Laws
Proposed	Stablecoin Regulations, prepublished in the Canada Gazette, Part I, Vol. 160, No. 43, with related amendments to the Retail Payment Activities Regulations. Interested persons may make representations within 60 days after the date of publication. The notice says the proposed Regulations would come into force alongside the Act on a day or days fixed by order of the Governor in Council, and that the intention is for them to come into force in fall 2027. Not final law.	24 October 2026 (prepublication)	Canada Gazette, Bank of Canada
Statement	Department of Finance: with the legislation having received Royal Assent, it has begun developing supporting regulations; it expects this work to continue over 12-18 months from early 2026, with the stablecoin framework coming into force in 2027.	Page modified 31 March 2026	Department of Finance
Pending	FINTRAC, on the Budget 2025 Implementation Act (Royal Assent 26 March 2026): stablecoin issuers will be required to register with FINTRAC as money services businesses dealing in virtual currency. Coming into force: in line with Regulations to be developed and published in the Canada Gazette, Part II.	26 March 2026 (Royal Assent); entry into force not established	FINTRAC
Published	CSA Staff Notice 21-333 "Crypto Asset Trading Platforms: Terms and Conditions for Trading Value-Referenced Crypto Assets with Clients". The CSA describes its approach to value-referenced crypto assets as an interim approach only. The Canada Gazette notice of 24 October 2026 states that under CSA rules, crypto-asset trading platforms may only make certain stablecoins available for trading if the stablecoin complies with CSA rules such as on disclosure, reserve assets and redemption rights.	5 October 2023	CSA notice (OSC copy), Canada Gazette

Key rules

Issuing (Stablecoin Act s. 15, not in force). A person must not issue a stablecoin unless the person complies with the Act and their name is included in the list of issuers referred to in paragraph 16(a). (Justice Laws)
Registry (Stablecoin Act s. 16, not in force). The Bank of Canada must maintain a public registry; Justice Laws marks the section as not in force. (Justice Laws)
Scope (Department of Finance). Canada's stablecoin framework will only regulate the issuance of fiat-backed stablecoins by non-financial institutions. (Department of Finance)
Foreign issuers (Department of Finance). The framework will apply to domestic and foreign issuers who make fiat-backed stablecoins available to Canadians, directly or indirectly, and does not distinguish between CAD-denominated and foreign-currency-denominated stablecoins. (Department of Finance)
Reserve (Stablecoin Act s. 37, not in force). An issuer must, in accordance with the regulations, if any, maintain a reserve of assets with a value equal to or greater than the par value of outstanding stablecoins (s. 37(1)); the reserve must be composed exclusively of the reference currency or other high-quality liquid assets as the section specifies (s. 37(3)). (Justice Laws)
Reserve custody (proposed Regulations). Issuers would be required to hold reserve assets at a Canadian-incorporated qualified custodian. (Canada Gazette)
Redemption (Stablecoin Act s. 35, not in force). An issuer must redeem outstanding stablecoins in the reference currency, at par value and in accordance with the regulations, if any. (Justice Laws)
Redemption timing and fees (proposed Regulations). Issuers would be required to redeem stablecoins within three business days after the initial request and without a minimum redemption amount; redemption fees would be capped at 1% of the redeemed amount. (Canada Gazette)
Interest or yield (Stablecoin Act s. 32, not in force). An issuer must not, directly or indirectly, grant or pay to the holder of a stablecoin it has issued any form of interest or yield in respect of that stablecoin, whether in cash, digital assets or other consideration. (Justice Laws)
Use-based rewards (proposed Regulations). The notice states that a reward or payment tied to only the use and not the holding of a stablecoin, including through income-sharing arrangements, is permitted to encourage adoption of the stablecoin. (Canada Gazette)
Representations (Stablecoin Act s. 34, not in force). An issuer must not represent a stablecoin in a manner that suggests that it is legal tender, a deposit or proof of a deposit, or insured under a public deposit insurance system or guaranteed or backstopped by a government. (Justice Laws)
Payments (Department of Finance). The Bank of Canada, under the Retail Payment Activities Act, will supervise payment service providers that perform payment functions in a fiat-backed stablecoin, subject to that stablecoin being prescribed in regulation. (Department of Finance)
Issuer undertaking: redemption (CSA SN 21-333). The CSA undertaking form entitles a holder who maintains an account with the issuer to a right of redemption, subject only to reasonable publicly disclosed conditions, on demand directly against the issuer or against the reserve of assets, for the reference fiat currency on a one-to-one basis, less only any fee publicly disclosed by the issuer. The CSA expected issuers to provide the undertaking by 1 December 2023. (CSA notice (OSC copy))
"Stablecoin" disclaimer (CSA SN 21-333). If a crypto trading platform uses the term "stablecoin" in information, communication, advertising or social media targeted at or accessible by Canadian investors, it will also include a statement that, although the term is commonly used, there is no guarantee that the asset will maintain a stable value in relation to the value of the reference asset when traded. (CSA notice (OSC copy))
Dealing in virtual currency (FINTRAC). For FINTRAC, dealing in virtual currency includes both virtual currency exchange and virtual currency transfer services. (FINTRAC)
Large virtual currency transactions (FINTRAC). A Large Virtual Currency Transaction Report must be submitted to FINTRAC when virtual currency in an amount equivalent to $10,000 or more is received in a single transaction. (FINTRAC)

Timeline

Date	Event	Source
5 October 2023	CSA publishes Staff Notice 21-333 on value-referenced crypto assets on trading platforms	CSA notice (OSC copy)
1 December 2023	Date by which the CSA expected issuers to provide the undertaking	CSA notice (OSC copy)
26 March 2026	Budget 2025 Implementation Act, which enacts the Stablecoin Act, receives Royal Assent	Justice Laws, FINTRAC
24 October 2026	Proposed Stablecoin Regulations prepublished in the Canada Gazette, Part I, with 60 days for representations	Canada Gazette
Fall 2027	Intended coming into force of the proposed Regulations, per the Gazette notice	Canada Gazette

Not covered here

The sources this page uses name no provision of the Stablecoin Act that is in force and give no in-force date for it; the Gazette notice says it would be fixed by order of the Governor in Council. The final treatment of yield and rewards, and how section 14 exemptions for substantially similar provincial or foreign regimes would be applied, are open questions raised in the Gazette notice. The CSA website returned a bot challenge and was not read: CSA updates to Staff Notice 21-333 after 2023 and the CSA list of acceptable issuer undertakings are not covered, and the notice is quoted from the Ontario Securities Commission copy. The FINTRAC money services business registry was not opened, and no Bank of Canada registry of stablecoin issuers was found in the sources this page uses. CSA updates made in 2024 to the interim approach for trading platforms are not covered on this page yet.

Sources

Updated: 2026-11-01 · Markdown version