Julie Gordon and Steve Scherer

OTTAWA, (Reuters) – The frontrunner for Canada’s next opposition leader Conservatives stated on Thursday that he will ban Canada’s Bank of Canada digital currency from being issued if he becomes prime minister.

Pierre Poilievre has declared that Canada will be the first country to use blockchain technology.

He said that a Poilievre government would ban digital currencies from central banks and give Canadians the financial and economic liberty they need.

Poilievre is a Conservative MP since 2004 and leads all polls before the September vote to choose a leader for Canada’s main opposition party. Poilievre will most likely need to wait until 2025 to become a federal candidate, since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals signed a political support agreement with the New Democrats. This is a small left-leaning group.

In February, the Conservative leadership race began after Erin O’Toole lost to Trudeau last year’s election and was ousted from her position as leader of the Conservative party.

Poilievre has attributed Canada’s high inflation rate to the central bank’s large-scale purchases of government bonds.

Officials at the central bank reacted this week to those allegations.

According to Carolyn Rogers, Bank of Canada senior Deputy governor (NYSE:), “We don’t view cryptocurrencies as a method for Canadians not to choose out of inflation or als a stable value source,” Rogers told lawmakers Monday.

Tiff Macklem stated that he sees the Canadian currency remaining the central of the country’s financial system.

The Bank of Canada didn’t respond to our request for comment on Thursday.

Since a long time, the central bank has been developing a digital currency (CBDC). The CBDC currently is in its development phase, but the Federal Government will make the final decisions about the launch.

Canada’s inflation reached a record 6.7% in March, a new 31-year record. All over the globe, countries are struggling with high prices due to strong demand and tight supply chains. Russia’s incursion in Ukraine has driven up commodity prices, further aggravating the situation.