diff --git a/background/background.go b/background/background.go
index 821f95d..14d0660 100644
--- a/background/background.go
+++ b/background/background.go
@@ -72,9 +72,7 @@ func blockConnected() {
 
 	const funcName = "blockConnected"
 
-	ctx := context.Background()
-
-	dcrdClient, _, err := dcrdRPC.Client(ctx)
+	dcrdClient, _, err := dcrdRPC.Client()
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Errorf("%s: %v", funcName, err)
 		return
@@ -168,7 +166,7 @@ func blockConnected() {
 		log.Errorf("%s: db.GetUnconfirmedFees error: %v", funcName, err)
 	}
 
-	walletClients, failedConnections := walletRPC.Clients(ctx)
+	walletClients, failedConnections := walletRPC.Clients()
 	if len(walletClients) == 0 {
 		log.Errorf("%s: Could not connect to any wallets", funcName)
 		return
@@ -331,7 +329,7 @@ func blockConnected() {
 func connectNotifier(shutdownCtx context.Context, dcrdWithNotifs rpc.DcrdConnect) error {
 	notifierClosed = make(chan struct{})
 
-	dcrdClient, _, err := dcrdWithNotifs.Client(shutdownCtx)
+	dcrdClient, _, err := dcrdWithNotifs.Client()
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -423,15 +421,13 @@ func checkWalletConsistency() {
 
 	log.Info("Checking voting wallet consistency")
 
-	ctx := context.Background()
-
-	dcrdClient, _, err := dcrdRPC.Client(ctx)
+	dcrdClient, _, err := dcrdRPC.Client()
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Errorf("%s: %v", funcName, err)
 		return
 	}
 
-	walletClients, failedConnections := walletRPC.Clients(ctx)
+	walletClients, failedConnections := walletRPC.Clients()
 	if len(walletClients) == 0 {
 		log.Errorf("%s: Could not connect to any wallets", funcName)
 		return
diff --git a/database/database.go b/database/database.go
index 93c28c1..0881809 100644
--- a/database/database.go
+++ b/database/database.go
@@ -172,7 +172,8 @@ func CreateNew(dbFile, feeXPub string) error {
 
 // Open initializes and returns an open database. An error is returned if no
 // database file is found at the provided path.
-func Open(ctx context.Context, shutdownWg *sync.WaitGroup, dbFile string, backupInterval time.Duration, maxVoteChangeRecords int) (*VspDatabase, error) {
+func Open(shutdownCtx context.Context, shutdownWg *sync.WaitGroup, dbFile string,
+	backupInterval time.Duration, maxVoteChangeRecords int) (*VspDatabase, error) {
 
 	// Error if db file does not exist. This is needed because bolt.Open will
 	// silently create a new empty database if the file does not exist. A new
@@ -211,7 +212,7 @@ func Open(ctx context.Context, shutdownWg *sync.WaitGroup, dbFile string, backup
 				if err != nil {
 					log.Errorf("Failed to write database backup: %v", err)
 				}
-			case <-ctx.Done():
+			case <-shutdownCtx.Done():
 				shutdownWg.Done()
 				return
 			}
@@ -385,7 +386,7 @@ func (vdb *VspDatabase) BackupDB(w http.ResponseWriter) error {
 
 // CheckIntegrity will ensure that all data in the database is present and up to
 // date.
-func (vdb *VspDatabase) CheckIntegrity(ctx context.Context, dcrd rpc.DcrdConnect) error {
+func (vdb *VspDatabase) CheckIntegrity(dcrd rpc.DcrdConnect) error {
 
 	// Ensure all confirmed tickets have a purchase height.
 	// This is necessary because of an old bug which, in some circumstances,
@@ -400,7 +401,7 @@ func (vdb *VspDatabase) CheckIntegrity(ctx context.Context, dcrd rpc.DcrdConnect
 		return nil
 	}
 
-	dcrdClient, _, err := dcrd.Client(ctx)
+	dcrdClient, _, err := dcrd.Client()
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/rpc/client.go b/rpc/client.go
index 4c28577..1f34d80 100644
--- a/rpc/client.go
+++ b/rpc/client.go
@@ -83,9 +83,8 @@ func (c *client) Close() {
 }
 
 // dial will return a connect rpc client if one exists, or attempt to create a
-// new one if not. A
-// boolean indicates whether this connection is new (true), or if it is an
-// existing connection which is being reused (false).
+// new one if not. A boolean indicates whether this connection is new (true), or
+// if it is an existing connection which is being reused (false).
 func (c *client) dial(ctx context.Context) (Caller, bool, error) {
 	c.mu.Lock()
 	defer c.mu.Unlock()
diff --git a/rpc/dcrd.go b/rpc/dcrd.go
index ab23896..f6eafeb 100644
--- a/rpc/dcrd.go
+++ b/rpc/dcrd.go
@@ -58,7 +58,8 @@ func (d *DcrdConnect) Close() {
 
 // Client creates a new DcrdRPC client instance. Returns an error if dialing
 // dcrd fails or if dcrd is misconfigured.
-func (d *DcrdConnect) Client(ctx context.Context) (*DcrdRPC, string, error) {
+func (d *DcrdConnect) Client() (*DcrdRPC, string, error) {
+	ctx := context.Background()
 	c, newConnection, err := d.client.dial(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, d.client.addr, fmt.Errorf("dcrd connection error: %w", err)
diff --git a/rpc/dcrwallet.go b/rpc/dcrwallet.go
index 3b95ad0..fa15895 100644
--- a/rpc/dcrwallet.go
+++ b/rpc/dcrwallet.go
@@ -52,7 +52,8 @@ func (w *WalletConnect) Close() {
 // Clients loops over each wallet and tries to establish a connection. It
 // increments a count of failed connections if a connection cannot be
 // established, or if the wallet is misconfigured.
-func (w *WalletConnect) Clients(ctx context.Context) ([]*WalletRPC, []string) {
+func (w *WalletConnect) Clients() ([]*WalletRPC, []string) {
+	ctx := context.Background()
 	walletClients := make([]*WalletRPC, 0)
 	failedConnections := make([]string, 0)
 
diff --git a/vspd.go b/vspd.go
index 054e3f0..858dd1d 100644
--- a/vspd.go
+++ b/vspd.go
@@ -28,11 +28,11 @@ const maxVoteChangeRecords = 10
 func main() {
 	// Create a context that is cancelled when a shutdown request is received
 	// through an interrupt signal.
-	ctx := withShutdownCancel(context.Background())
+	shutdownCtx := withShutdownCancel(context.Background())
 	go shutdownListener()
 
 	// Run until error is returned, or shutdown is requested.
-	if err := run(ctx); err != nil && !errors.Is(err, context.Canceled) {
+	if err := run(shutdownCtx); err != nil && !errors.Is(err, context.Canceled) {
 		os.Exit(1)
 	}
 }
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ func main() {
 // is responsible for parsing the config, creating a dcrwallet RPC client,
 // opening the database, starting the webserver, and stopping all started
 // services when the context is cancelled.
-func run(ctx context.Context) error {
+func run(shutdownCtx context.Context) error {
 
 	// Load config file and parse CLI args.
 	cfg, err := loadConfig()
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ func run(ctx context.Context) error {
 	defer log.Criticalf("Shutdown complete")
 
 	// Open database.
-	db, err := database.Open(ctx, &shutdownWg, cfg.dbPath, cfg.BackupInterval, maxVoteChangeRecords)
+	db, err := database.Open(shutdownCtx, &shutdownWg, cfg.dbPath, cfg.BackupInterval, maxVoteChangeRecords)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Errorf("Database error: %v", err)
 		requestShutdown()
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ func run(ctx context.Context) error {
 	defer wallets.Close()
 
 	// Ensure all data in database is present and up-to-date.
-	err = db.CheckIntegrity(ctx, dcrd)
+	err = db.CheckIntegrity(dcrd)
 	if err != nil {
 		// vspd should still start if this fails, so just log an error.
 		log.Errorf("Could not check database integrity: %v", err)
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ func run(ctx context.Context) error {
 		MaxVoteChangeRecords: maxVoteChangeRecords,
 		VspdVersion:          version.String(),
 	}
-	err = webapi.Start(ctx, requestShutdown, &shutdownWg, cfg.Listen, db,
+	err = webapi.Start(shutdownCtx, requestShutdown, &shutdownWg, cfg.Listen, db,
 		dcrd, wallets, apiCfg)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Errorf("Failed to initialize webapi: %v", err)
@@ -129,11 +129,11 @@ func run(ctx context.Context) error {
 
 	// Start background process which will continually attempt to reconnect to
 	// dcrd if the connection drops.
-	background.Start(ctx, &shutdownWg, db, dcrd, dcrdWithNotifs, wallets)
+	background.Start(shutdownCtx, &shutdownWg, db, dcrd, dcrdWithNotifs, wallets)
 
 	// Wait for shutdown tasks to complete before running deferred tasks and
 	// returning.
 	shutdownWg.Wait()
 
-	return ctx.Err()
+	return shutdownCtx.Err()
 }
diff --git a/webapi/cache.go b/webapi/cache.go
index e19adab..3dd97a6 100644
--- a/webapi/cache.go
+++ b/webapi/cache.go
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@
 package webapi
 
 import (
-	"context"
 	"errors"
 	"sync"
 	"time"
@@ -56,8 +55,8 @@ func newCache(signPubKey string) *cache {
 
 // update will use the provided database and RPC connections to update the
 // dynamic values in the cache.
-func (c *cache) update(ctx context.Context, db *database.VspDatabase,
-	dcrd rpc.DcrdConnect, wallets rpc.WalletConnect) error {
+func (c *cache) update(db *database.VspDatabase, dcrd rpc.DcrdConnect,
+	wallets rpc.WalletConnect) error {
 
 	dbSize, err := db.Size()
 	if err != nil {
@@ -71,7 +70,7 @@ func (c *cache) update(ctx context.Context, db *database.VspDatabase,
 	}
 
 	// Get latest best block height.
-	dcrdClient, _, err := dcrd.Client(ctx)
+	dcrdClient, _, err := dcrd.Client()
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -85,7 +84,7 @@ func (c *cache) update(ctx context.Context, db *database.VspDatabase,
 		return errors.New("dcr node reports a network ticket pool size of zero")
 	}
 
-	clients, failedConnections := wallets.Clients(ctx)
+	clients, failedConnections := wallets.Clients()
 	if len(clients) == 0 {
 		log.Error("Could not connect to any wallets")
 	} else if len(failedConnections) > 0 {
diff --git a/webapi/middleware.go b/webapi/middleware.go
index 8bcf61b..8828796 100644
--- a/webapi/middleware.go
+++ b/webapi/middleware.go
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ func (s *Server) requireAdmin(c *gin.Context) {
 // downstream handlers to make use of.
 func withDcrdClient(dcrd rpc.DcrdConnect) gin.HandlerFunc {
 	return func(c *gin.Context) {
-		client, hostname, err := dcrd.Client(c)
+		client, hostname, err := dcrd.Client()
 		// Don't handle the error here, add it to the context and let downstream
 		// handlers decide what to do with it.
 		c.Set(dcrdKey, client)
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ func withDcrdClient(dcrd rpc.DcrdConnect) gin.HandlerFunc {
 // must handle the case where no wallet clients are connected.
 func withWalletClients(wallets rpc.WalletConnect) gin.HandlerFunc {
 	return func(c *gin.Context) {
-		clients, failedConnections := wallets.Clients(c)
+		clients, failedConnections := wallets.Clients()
 		if len(clients) == 0 {
 			log.Error("Could not connect to any wallets")
 		} else if len(failedConnections) > 0 {
diff --git a/webapi/webapi.go b/webapi/webapi.go
index 6c18ef7..0857132 100644
--- a/webapi/webapi.go
+++ b/webapi/webapi.go
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ type Server struct {
 	signPubKey  ed25519.PublicKey
 }
 
-func Start(ctx context.Context, requestShutdown func(), shutdownWg *sync.WaitGroup,
+func Start(shutdownCtx context.Context, requestShutdown func(), shutdownWg *sync.WaitGroup,
 	listen string, vdb *database.VspDatabase, dcrd rpc.DcrdConnect, wallets rpc.WalletConnect, config Config) error {
 
 	s := &Server{
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ func Start(ctx context.Context, requestShutdown func(), shutdownWg *sync.WaitGro
 
 	// Populate cached VSP stats before starting webserver.
 	s.cache = newCache(base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(s.signPubKey))
-	err = s.cache.update(ctx, vdb, dcrd, wallets)
+	err = s.cache.update(vdb, dcrd, wallets)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Errorf("Could not initialize VSP stats cache: %v", err)
 	}
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ func Start(ctx context.Context, requestShutdown func(), shutdownWg *sync.WaitGro
 
 	// Create TCP listener.
 	var listenConfig net.ListenConfig
-	listener, err := listenConfig.Listen(ctx, "tcp", listen)
+	listener, err := listenConfig.Listen(shutdownCtx, "tcp", listen)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ func Start(ctx context.Context, requestShutdown func(), shutdownWg *sync.WaitGro
 	shutdownWg.Add(1)
 	go func() {
 		// Wait until shutdown is signaled before shutting down.
-		<-ctx.Done()
+		<-shutdownCtx.Done()
 
 		log.Debug("Stopping webserver...")
 		// Give the webserver 5 seconds to finish what it is doing.
@@ -171,11 +171,11 @@ func Start(ctx context.Context, requestShutdown func(), shutdownWg *sync.WaitGro
 	go func() {
 		for {
 			select {
-			case <-ctx.Done():
+			case <-shutdownCtx.Done():
 				shutdownWg.Done()
 				return
 			case <-time.After(refresh):
-				err := s.cache.update(ctx, vdb, dcrd, wallets)
+				err := s.cache.update(vdb, dcrd, wallets)
 				if err != nil {
 					log.Errorf("Failed to update cached VSP stats: %v", err)
 				}