Former BlackBerry co-CEO Jim Balsillie thinks Canada should expedite the introduction of stablecoins and open banking as part of a strategic offence in ongoing negotiations with the US.
In a conversation with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith at Inventures 2025 in Calgary, the Chair of the Council of Canadian Innovators said that US President Trump’s embrace of cryptocurrencies and advancing stablecoin legislation south of the border signal an impending risk for Canada.
“If we don’t get stablecoins and open banking in Canada, Trump is just going to bypass Canada’s fiat currency,” he said. “There’s no defence anymore, there’s just good offence.”
“There’s no defence anymore, there’s just good offence.”
Balsillie predicted that the US would soon demand to trade in Tether or another stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, and then characterize any refusal by Canada as a de facto tariff against which the country would retaliate.
“I’m not saying it’s suicide, but it’s really really not going to work,” Balsillie said of Canada’s potential resistance to stablecoins. “Not talking about it and thinking about it and figuring it out is going to catch us hard.”
Balsillie’s statements came a week after Coinbase Canada CEO Lucas Matheson reiterated six requests for policy and regulatory changes at Consensus to help the country become a global crypto leader. Included in those requests is a call for the federal regulation of stablecoins alongside a national crypto strategy to prevent Canada from falling behind other nations.
In a pre-recorded address played at the Blockworks Digital Asset Summit in March, President Trump stated that stablecoins would help “expand the dominance of the US dollar.” Others have argued stablecoins might in fact undermine it by allowing another currency to displace the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. The European Central Bank is currently working on a digital euro as part of a European Union program focused on “boosting strategic autonomy.”
Balsillie said it’s time for Canada to “fall back in love” with its technology founders, and to centre innovation in building sovereign strength in a changing geo-political climate.
“This game is super interesting, super dynamic,” he added. “I just want Canada to be front footed and I want the innovators to be at the table.”
During the fireside, Premier Smith indicated her willingness to name a Canadian crypto or Web3 expert to the Alberta Securities Commission to help advise the province on its approach to decentralized currencies.
“I like to make decisions here that might have influence nationally,” she said.
Canada has no federal securities regulator, with each province and territory operating its own securities commission. Those individual organizations coordinate on regulation through the Canadian Securities Administrators.
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The conversation occurred the day after Balsillie was announced as co-chair of the Government of Manitoba’s Innovation and Productivity Task Force, focused on the strategic opportunities for the technology sectors in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
“This is the era for the Prairies,” said Balsillie. “You have a moment to reconceptualize Canada. I think you have all the ingredients.”
Smith trumpeted recent numbers from the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) that showed Alberta attracted $140 million of venture capital in the first quarter of 2025. That number puts the province in the third spot after Ontario and Québec.
She also committed to partnering with the technology sector to modernize government programs and approaches.
“We need to have excellence in our own delivery of services,” she said.