Canada has opened a 60-day public consultation on draft regulations that would govern non-bank stablecoin issuers, with the rules intended to implement the Stablecoin Act, which became law on March 26, 2026. Comments on the draft, published in the Canada Gazette, are due by December 23, and the government says it is aiming for the regulations to take effect in fall 2027.
Under the draft, issuers that are not financial institutions would have to register with the Bank of Canada before issuing a stablecoin, and would need to hold reserves equal to the full value of outstanding tokens with qualified Canadian financial institutions — banks, credit unions and trust companies — in accounts segregated and protected from the issuer’s own creditors in the event of bankruptcy. Holders would be able to redeem their stablecoins for regular currency within three business days, with redemption fees capped at 1% of the amount redeemed.
The draft would also maintain a ban on non-bank issuers paying interest or yield to holders — including indirectly through a third party — a restriction the government says is meant to discourage treating stablecoins like a savings product. Rewards tied to individual transactions would still be allowed, but arrangements that reward larger holdings or longer holding periods would not be.
The Bank of Canada would register and supervise issuers under the framework, monitor issuance and redemption risk, and have enforcement powers. Proposed penalties would range from C$1 million for serious violations up to C$10 million for very serious ones, including failure to maintain adequate reserves or redemptions below par value. The government’s notice estimates roughly five stablecoin issuers and about 30 additional payment companies — including crypto platforms that hold customers’ coins in wallets — would fall under the new oversight regime.
The government says the framework is designed to align with stablecoin rules in the United States and other jurisdictions, with the stated aim of reducing the compliance burden for companies operating across more than one market. The Canadian Bankers Association has separately said it supports the draft’s interest-ban provisions.
For anyone holding or regularly using Canadian-regulated stablecoins — including for remittances or international payments — the draft is not yet final: the consultation period runs to December 23, and the rules as written would not take effect before fall 2027 at the earliest. In the meantime, no new reserve, redemption or interest requirements currently apply beyond what issuers already observe under the Stablecoin Act itself.
