TD, BMO among 9 financial institutions accused of debanking U.S. citizens over political beliefs — could it happen to Canadians?

Canada has clear rules that work in your favour, but there are caveats worth knowing.

What did the U.S. regulator find?

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the U.S. federal agency that supervises national banks, reviewed 100,000 complaints tied to the nine largest banks it oversees, following an August 2025 executive order signed by President Donald Trump. According to Comptroller Jonathan Gould, the banks allegedly “denied, debanked and discriminated against customers and lawful businesses.”

The OCC found that between 2020 and September 2025, the financial institutions maintained policies that restricted access to banking services or required customers to go through heightened reviews and approvals. Most, but not all, of the cases involved individuals identified as conservatives.

TD has not publicly responded to the investigation’s findings. When asked for comment, BMO referred The Canadian Press to a statement from the Bank Policy Institute — a U.S. industry group representing major banks — which focused on regulatory priorities:

“We support efforts to establish clear and consistent standards that promote access while maintaining sound risk management, including the administration’s recent efforts to prioritize supervisory attention on material financial risk rather than reputational risk,” the statement reads in part.

No fines have been announced.

Does this finding have any impact on your Canadian account with either bank? Not directly. It matters most if you hold accounts with TD’s or BMO’s U.S. operations, as many snowbirds and cross-border workers do.

Can a Canadian bank refuse you an account because of your views?

In most cases, no. According to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC), under the Bank Act, a financial institution that’s a member of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) must open a retail deposit account for you if you meet basic conditions.

The exceptions are quite narrow. According to financial empowerment charity Prosper Canada, a bank can refuse if you cannot show the right identification, if it believes you’ll use the account to break the law, if you knowingly gave false information or if you committed a crime against a bank in the past seven years. Political or religious beliefs aren’t included on the list.

If a bank does deny you access to an account, it must provide you, in writing, with a Notice of Refusal that explains how to contact FCAC.

There is a catch. These protections only apply to opening an account. Closing an existing one is largely dictated by your account agreement, so it’s worth reading the termination and notice terms in yours.

What happened when Canadian accounts were frozen in 2022?

The 2022 freezes were a result of government emergency powers, not banks’ own policies, and that’s an important distinction.