Canada’s new Budget promises a BoC-administered framework for fiat-backed stablecoin issuers, linked to the Retail Payment Activities Act, alongside open banking legislation and a 2026 Real-Time Rail launch.
Canada will introduce legislation to create a regulated space for fiat-backed stablecoins, putting the Bank of Canada in charge of administering the new regime.
According to the government’s latest budget published on November 4, issuers will face rules on reserve assets, redemption, risk management and privacy, with national-security safeguards to ensure coins are safe for consumers and businesses.
The Budget also signposts amendments to the Retail Payment Activities Act so payment firms using prescribed stablecoins are captured by the payments perimeter.
The Bank of Canada will retain up to $7m (C$10m) over two years from 2026–27 to stand up the framework, with ongoing administrative costs projected at about C$5 million a year, to be recovered from regulated issuers.
Beyond stablecoins, Ottawa set out the next steps in payments modernisation. Nearly 1,500 payment service providers are now supervised by the Bank of Canada under the Retail Payment Activities Act, and those that are registered and supervised can apply for Payments Canada membership, paving the way for direct participation in national systems including the forthcoming Real-Time Rail.
The government reaffirmed a 2026 go-live for Real-Time Rail.
On data sharing, the government will table legislation to complete the Consumer-Driven Banking Act and add a data-mobility right to PIPEDA, with oversight of open banking delegated to the Bank of Canada.
The central bank will retain up to C$19.3 million over two years to support implementation, while CSIS and the RCMP receive C$25.7 million over five years, then C$5 million ongoing, to underpin national-security safeguards. Ottawa also flagged a second-phase target to legislate “write access” by mid-2027 once Real-Time Rail is live and widely used.
Competition measures around retail banking round out the payments-adjacent package. The Budget highlights the updated low- and no-cost account commitment and a C$10 cap on NSF fees taking effect in March 2026, which the government estimates will save households up to C$600 million annually. It also proposes changes to help smaller banks and credit unions scale and raise the public-float threshold from C$2 billion to C$4 billion.
