Is Justin Trudeau Leaning Towards Crypto-Friendly Policy?

The last day of Canada's federal election is here. Justin Trudeau of the Liberal party is in a tight race and hopes to maintain his position as prime minister. Trudeau called the election two years early, potentially as a way to gain stronger Liberal control and rein in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Policies for indigenous peoples, the climate, and more are on the table. What are Trudeau's views on cryptocurrency as countries around the world start to integrate digital assets into their federal processes?

Some voters view Trudeau's call for a snap election as a so-called "power grab," according to The New York Times. Others think that he wants more Liberals on board to help him enact more legislation, despite little opposition to his policies even without a majority Liberal government.

The election period has been going on for 36 days and ends on Sept. 20. Erin O'Toole of the Conservative party opposes Trudeau and the statistics are tied for who will win.

By 10:00 p.m. ET on Sept. 20, the election will officially end. Due to the closeness of the race, it will likely be days before results come in. Ironically, Trudeau's poll results have dwindled since he first called the quick election—in the middle of a pandemic while the country works to keep cases low no less.

Canadian lawmakers like Trudeau haven't been overt about their feelings towards cryptocurrency. On the other hand, many politicians and Canadians have been vocal about supporting cryptocurrency. Even Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is Russian-Canadian himself (as the second biggest blockchain and coin, that's one serious claim to fame).

Digital assets are already impacting the Canadian economy, and they will continue to do so at greater scale. Ignoring it could be imprudent for a nation of people.

I'm not privy to Trudeau family dinners, but at least one person at the table has an interest in cryptocurrency. For one, Trudeau's half-brother, Kyle Kemper is a fan of Dogecoin (DOGE). Kemper even spoke about Dogecoin at a national blockchain conference once—and the Canadian government paid him nearly $10,000 for it. Canadian politicians were more worried about nepotism than cryptocurrency after the fact.

For months, the altcoin was gaining serious traction since being swelled by the likes of Elon Musk, but it never hit the dollar mark and has since fallen below $0.025.

Kemper is an adviser for the Chamber of Digital Commerce Canada, the author of The Unified Wallet - Unlocking the Digital Golden Age, and the founder of companies like Swiss Key and Million Doge Disco. He refers to his "bitcoin awakening" in 2013 as the key to his vision.

While Trudeau hasn't voiced his agreement (or lack thereof) with his half-brother's staunchly pro-crypto views, there's something to be said about those family ties. While Canada isn't likely to end up like El Salvador, which recently made Bitcoin a legal tender, the country has the potential to institute pro-crypto policies for the modern era (beyond a simple tax law that extends to cryptocurrency). Those developments have yet to be seen.