Canada will introduce its first national

anti-fraud strategy

to combat rising losses when it announces its budget next month that will

require banks

to have policies to prevent and address fraud, says Finance Minister

François-Philippe Champagne

.

The federal government will also create a new

financial crime agency

, which will be the “lead enforcement agency” to

tackle financial crimes

such as

money laundering

and financial fraud as well as recovering criminal proceeds, he said.

“Fraud is an issue across sectors as fraudsters increasingly use text messages, emails and social media to target victims,” Champagne said at a press conference on Monday. “This means firms across the technology, telecommunication and financial sectors must step up.”

Canadians lost $643 million to financial fraud in 2024, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, which was a 300 per cent increase since 2020. But it said only five per cent to 10 per cent of scams are actually reported.

The

Canadian Bankers Association

(CBA), which represents about

60 banking institutions

, estimates the actual annual impact is around $11 billion, or 0.53 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product.

Both steps announced by Champagne will require legal procedures — a legal amendment and new legislation — to be completed.

The government will also work with banks and stakeholders to develop a voluntary code of conduct to prevent economic abuse. The conduct will set “clear expectations for how financial institutions can identify, prevent and respond to economic abuse to better protect Canadians,” the Department of Finance said in a statement.

The federal government already has various agencies to monitor fraud, but Champagne said that “something different” is required to fight financial crime, which has increasingly grown complex and usually affects vulnerable seniors. Of the $643 million lost in 2024, $176.6 million was taken from older people.

“You need specialized people,” he said. “We will take people from different parts of the Government of Canada. You need the type of agents that would have the investigative power, the skills needed and the ability to really go after organized crime.

Alana Scotchmer, a partner in the financial services regulation group at Gowling WLG, called the measures “long-awaited” from the federal government.

“This is hopefully the beginning of the government’s response to industry calls for reform, like from the CBA-led Anti-Scam Coalition,” she said. “The idea of a federal Financial Crimes Agency, for example, has floated through several budgets without real traction until now. What we’re seeing are the signs of political will to bring it all together. It’s a win for both banking customers and for Canada’s financial services industry.”

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