A Fairer Financial System

Over the last six years we have brought in tough new penalties to crack down on predatory sales practices and to increase transparency in the way banks deal with you.

To help Canadians struggling through the pandemic we made sure lenders provided Canadians with options to ease their debt payments. We will take action to ensure that, as we come out of COVID-19, there are even stronger protections to level the playing field between you and your financial institution.

A re-elected Liberal government will:

  • Require financial institutions offer flexible repayment options by default if you fall on hard times or face a life event that causes financial stress. This will include a mandatory option for a 6-month deferral of mortgage payments in qualifying circumstances.
  • Establish a single, independent ombudsperson for handling consumer complaints involving banks, with the power to impose binding arbitration.
  • Crack down on predatory lenders by lowering the criminal rate of interest.
  • Enhance the powers of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada to review the prices charged by banks and impose changes if they are excessive.
  • Move forward with a made-in-Canada model of open banking that will launch no later than the beginning of 2023. This system will ensure that you, not your bank, control your data.
  • Modernize Canada’s payments technology to deliver faster and lower cost options so that you can securely and conveniently manage money, pay bills, and transfer funds to loved ones around the world.