As a growing number of countries adopt digital payments and currencies, the Centre for International Governance Innovation and Bennett Jones LLP hosted a virtual workshop on March 7, 2023, to discuss the implications for Canada. Building on their previous work in related fields, participants including Canadian and international experts from the public and private sectors as well as from academia explored four topics: payments system modernization, open banking, stablecoins and central bank digital currencies. Creating a trustworthy digital financial system in which Canadians can conduct personal and business transactions in a reliable way is key to Canada’s successful adoption of digital payments and currencies.

About the Authors

Robert (Bob) Fay is a CIGI senior fellow and an expert in the field of digital economy research.

Keldon Bester is a CIGI fellow and the executive director of the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project, a think tank dedicated to addressing the harms of monopoly and building a more democratic economy.

David Dodge is the former governor of the Bank of Canada and deputy minister of finance. He is senior advisor at Bennett Jones LLP and chairs the National Council of the C. D. Howe Institute.

Serge Dupont is a senior advisor at Bennett Jones LLP, and a former senior executive in the Government of Canada (deputy clerk of the Privy Council, deputy minister of natural resources, deputy minister for federal-provincial relations).

Mark Jewett, KC, is a CIGI senior fellow with experience in senior positions in both the public and private sectors. Over the course of his public service career, he was the general counsel and corporate secretary at the Bank of Canada, and senior assistant deputy minister in the Departments of Finance and Justice. 

John Murray is a former deputy governor of the Bank of Canada. As a member of the bank’s governing council, he shared responsibility for decisions on monetary policy, financial system stability and strategic direction. 

Laurie Wright is senior counsel with Bennett Jones LLP. She has 30 years of experience in the federal government, across a broad range of issues and departments, with knowledge of specialized areas of public law and government processes.