Poilievre vows to crack down on scams targeting seniors

MONTREAL — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is making a pitch to seniors with a plan to protect them from fraud.

At a campaign stop in Montreal on Tuesday, Poilievre promised to force Canada’s banks and telecom companies to do more to combat financial scams, and to impose mandatory penalties and jail time on those committing the crimes.

Poilievre also said his government would require those companies to report statistics on their fraud prevention efforts.

Companies that don’t do enough to prevent scams could face penalties of up to $5 million, he said.

Tuesday’s announcement comes as polls suggest Poilievre is trailing among senior voters — generally the demographic with the highest turnout in federal elections.

A new poll by Nanos Research shows more than half of voters over the age of 55 prefer Liberal Leader Mark Carney as their next prime minister, while Poilievre has only 30 per cent support among that age group.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 15, 2025.

The Canadian Press staff