The federal government is set to launch Canada’s first-ever national anti-fraud strategy and establish a new financial crime agency as part of “unprecedented actions” to protect financially vulnerable Canadians, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced on Monday.
Through the new strategy, the Liberals will explore new policies and actions that require firms across the technology, telecommunications and financial sectors to step up to combat financial fraud, said Champagne in a news conference in Ottawa.
The news, part of a series of pre-budget announcements ahead of the federal budget set to be tabled on Nov. 4, follows a roundtable in Washington last week where Champagne said he met with his counterparts from G7 countries, the FBI, and the CEO of the Canadian Bankers Association to discuss strategies for combating financial fraud.
“I want Canada to be best in class. That’s why we’ve been consulting with (other countries),” said Champagne. “My aim is to go after organized crime, is to go after those who scam and defraud Canadians.”
Champagne said the government intends to establish a new financial crime agency, “modeled after the best in the world,” that will serve as the lead enforcement body for combating financial crimes — including fraud and money laundering — and for recovering criminal proceeds.
“If you look at the financial crime unit in the United Kingdom, or if you look at the FBI units that are doing that, you need specialized people,” said Champagne, explaining the need to build a new agency. “We will be attracting the best.”
The Liberals will also work with banks to develop a code of conduct for the prevention of economic abuse in order to best position them to “identify, prevent and respond to economic abuse,” Champagne said.
As of September 30, more than 23,000 people in Canada reported losses totaling $544 million due to fraud, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
The centre recorded the largest increases in bank investigator fraud and phishing, which rose by 16.5 per cent and 6.8 per cent, respectively, in 2024.
