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OTTAWA, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) — An overwhelming majority of Canadians want the government and its top bank to “leave cash alone” and not proceed with the creation of a so-called “digital dollar,” calling an electronic currency a “horrible idea” that could lead to “one more way the government can control and track us.”
On Wednesday, the Bank of Canada (BOC) released its much-anticipated survey results regarding the “potential digital Canadian dollar.” The results show that the overwhelming majority, 86 percent of Canadians, are opposed to the creation of a national digital dollar.
The report included many written responses from participants who are opposed to the idea of a “digital dollar.”
“Leave cash alone!” wrote one respondent, with another writing, “We don’t need it! So don’t waste any more resources on it.”
Another wrote, “A digital dollar sounded great until we saw the Federal government freeze private bank accounts of its own citizens for supporting a political movement it disagreed with. I have no faith at all in the system anymore.”
This response no doubt was in reference to the Freedom Convoy of early 2022, when Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, under the orders of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, took the unprecedented step of demanding that banks freeze the accounts of anyone involved in the convoy protest in Ottawa, without a court order.
One participant noted how a digital dollar has the potential to be abused under an authoritarian government in power.
“Think of how quickly this has the potential to go wrong with the wrong people in power,” the person wrote.
Another wrote, “It’s the beginning of the end of freedom.”
One survey participant noted how Canadians already have a digital dollar, in the form of their debit or credit card.
“Canadians do not need a digital dollar, there is already one in place. It is your debit card,” a respondent wrote.
The BOC’s survey also asked those participating the survey their thoughts about potential advice to politicians and decision-makers concerning the possible creation of a “digital dollar.”
According to the survey, the “vast majority of respondents agree that regulation should be introduced to require merchants to accept cash as a form of payment.”
The BOC said that this trend holds “consistent across all demographic groups.”
“Similarly, most respondents agree that the Bank of Canada should continue to provide Canadians with an official means of payment backed by the central bank,” noted the report findings.
Also, most respondents said that the BOC “should not be researching and building the capability to issue a digital Canadian dollar.”
“Furthermore, most respondents do not believe that the Bank of Canada will consider the public’s feedback about a potential digital Canadian dollar,” the report stated.
Overall, the report found that when all answers were combined, the creation of a digital dollar garnered 86% negative feedback.
A ‘horrible idea’
Some participants from the BOC’s survey were quick to point out that should a digital dollar be created it would be a “horrible idea” and used as a tool of government control.
“I think it is… just one more way the government can control and track us. Cash is easy and it is anonymous, and it has been the way for thousands and thousands of years. Nobody can hack into cash. Cash is foolproof. Kids can use cash. What happens to the homeless? They can’t afford a phone or computer to access this digital money,” one participant wrote.
The participant noted how homeless or less privileged persons “rely on cash.”
“The world [relies] on cash. When I go to another country, I take out [cash] as every country has their own currency,” the participant wrote.
The same participant raised concerns about how a digital dollar is open to online hacks, something cash is immune from.
“What happens when the bank gets hacked or the bank goes bankrupt? All of our money is gone,” they wrote.
“With cash we can take it out and it’s physically with us. It’s a safety net. I am very against this digital dollar.”
The main findings from the BOC’s survey show that Canadians place a “high value on holding cash that is backed by their central bank and want to maintain access to bank notes.”
Some 93 percent of the BOC’s survey respondents said that they continue to use cash as a payment form in addition to the use of debit and credit cards. A total of 66% of respondents said that having access to a digital currency was not important.
According to the BOC, a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) would have to offer “compelling advantages to motivate these consumers – particularly the typical, well-connected consumers who account for most of the market – to adopt and use CBDC at sufficient scale to generate widespread merchant acceptance.”
Digital currencies have been touted as a way by some government officials to replace traditional cash.
As noted in a report from LifeSiteNews, experts warn that central bank digital currencies are a “control tool” of governments.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre promised that if he is elected prime minister he would stop any implementation of a “digital currency” or a compulsory “digital ID” system.
The BOC at the time said that any final decision on when and if a digital Canadian dollar is issued would be up to the government and has not ruled out the creation of a digital dollar despite the report’s findings.
As reported by LifeSiteNews in May, the BOC was looking for public feedback on whether such a form of digital currency, which experts have warned could mean an end to purchasing anonymity, would be viable for Canadians.
The survey, which was open from May 8 to June 19, 2023, received 89,423 responses. A total of 87 percent of respondents said they were “aware” of talk concerning the creation of a digital dollar.
The survey results come after the BOC in August admitted that the creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) is not needed as many people rely on “cash” to pay for things. The bank concluded that the introduction of a digital currency would only be feasible if consumers demanded its release.
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