Ottawa launches consultation on national anti-fraud strategy

The federal government says it will be consulting for the next four weeks on a national strategy to tackle financial scams targeting Canadians and businesses.

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne was in Montreal on Monday, rolling out consultations for the national anti-fraud strategy first announced in the federal budget last fall.

The federal government is looking for a strategy to avert fraud at every step in the process, from perpetrators’ initial contact with victims to mitigating harm after the fact.

When complete, the national anti-fraud strategy is expected to impose new obligations on financial institutions, telecom companies and digital platforms.

Those obligations could include issuing pre-emptive warnings about fraud risks when sending large amounts of money, or blocking fraudulent callers who pretend to be from legitimate individuals or government organizations.

Ottawa announced last month it would crack down on organized crime extortion scams by ramping up partnerships between law enforcement and financial institutions and embedding financial intelligence agents with police services across Canada.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 30, 2026.