Justin Trudeau slams conservative party leader over “irresponsible” views on Bitcoin

Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, is not a supporter of Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency. However, his main political rival, Pierre Poilievre, who was recently elected as the new Conservative Party leader, is a major Bitcoin supporter. He has touted his support for the primary cryptocurrency amid rising global inflation.

Justin Trudeau slams political rival for supporting Bitcoin

Poilievre has not hidden his views about Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency sector. The new leader of the Conservative party believes that Bitcoin is well-suited to solve the issues of rising inflation levels urging people to invest in the asset.

Trudeau has criticized the remarks being made by Poilievre regarding Bitcoin, saying that it was irresponsible to promote cryptocurrencies to the public. While speaking in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, the Prime Minister said that urging people to escape inflation by investing their savings in volatile crypto assets was irresponsible leadership.

Trudeau said that anyone that followed the advice and invested their life savings in crypto assets would end up losing all their money. Trudeau did not just stop there. He later went on Twitter to attack his political rival over his support for Bitcoin.

However, his remarks on Twitter did not bode well with the crypto community that was quick to attack him. Many Bitcoiners, such as the former executive of Kraken, Dan Held, criticized Tr5uyderau for attacking his political rival over his support for Bitcoin.

Poilievre garnered overwhelming support as the next conservative party leader in Canada. He became the party’s new leader after an overwhelming victory where he scored more than 68% of the party vote. The runner-up only received 16% of the vote.

Poilievre’s support for Bitcoin

Poilievre led a campaign mainly focused on taming the rising inflation levels and promoting financial responsibility. Poilievre’s support for Bitcoin as a better alternative during the skyrocketing global inflation levels comes from the belief that a rise in money supply affected purchasing power.

Bitcoin supporters argue that the coin’s capped supply of 21 million coins gives it the “hard money” identity. Poilievre has been public about his views on Bitcoin since the campaign started. He has appeared on several Bitcoin podcasts, promoting the primary cryptocurrency as “digital gold.”

In a rally held in March, Poilievre said that the government was inhibiting the Canadian dollar’s success, saying Canadians needed the freedom to use alternative forms of money such as Bitcoin.

Poilievre also had a donation link where he urged his supporters to reclaim their freedom from “bankers and politicians” and to ensure that Canada was the “blockchain capital of the world.”

However, despite Bitcoin being touted as a hedge against inflation, it has been on a downtrend like the rest of the cryptocurrency market. For years, crypto prices have moved in tandem with tech stocks. Therefore, while economies are grappling with rising inflation levels this year, Bitcoin has also plunged by nearly 70% since reaching an all-time high in November 2021.

The plunge in Bitcoin prices has opened a new front for Poilievre’s critics, who are now accusing him of supporting a volatile asset. Poilievre has also been criticized for attacking Canada’s “Freedom Convoy” protests opposing mandatory Covid-19 vaccines. The group raised around $1 million in Bitcoin o support its cause.

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