Tens of thousands of Canadians are calling for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to strip Elon Musk of his Canadian citizenship. Credit: Flickr: Daniel Oberhaus
Over 150,000 Canadians have signed a petition calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to revoke Elon Musk’s Canadian citizenship.
Anger felt by Canadians towards the tech billionaire has been increasing due to his close association with Donald Trump. The US president has repeatedly challenged Canadian sovereignty, earlier this month he said: “What I’d like to see – Canada become our 51st state.”
The petition was initiated by British Columbia author Qualia Reed in Canada’s House of Commons and sponsored by the New Democratic Party MP Charlie Angus, who has been a strong critic of Musk. It seeks to remove Musk’s passport and revoke his Canadian citizenship with immediate effect. At roughly 157,000 signatures, the petition has soared past the 500 signatures required for it to be presented before the House of Commons in Ottawa.
The grounds for stripping Musk of citizenship are listed as his engagement “in activities that go against the national interest of Canada,” his use of “wealth and power to influence our elections” and his becoming a “member of a foreign government that is attempting to erase Canadian sovereignty.”
Elon Musk’s Canadian citizenship
South African born Musk’s Canadian citizenship comes from his mother who is from Regina, the capital of the province Saskatchewan. He runs his companies the electric car manufacturer Tesla, the social media platform X and aerospace company SpaceX from the US.
Since Trump began his second term as president, Musk has also been dismantling various US government agencies and programmes as a “special government employee” leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an advisory body set up by Trump.
Trump’s threats towards Canada
The president’s term so far has been marked by numerous hostile comments made about various long term US allies, perhaps most notably towards the country’s northern neighbour.
He threatened to impose a 25% tariff on all Canadian exports to the US, aside from energy which would be taxed at 10%. He later granted a last-minute 30 day reprieve after Prime Minister Trudeau agreed to strengthen the Canadian-US border in a clamp down on the flow of the drug fentanyl.
Last year, Trump also referred to Trudeau as “governor” of the “Great State of Canada.” This was a jibe referring to the title given to chief executives of American states.
In response, many Canadians have pledged to boycott American-made products and cancelled trips to the US. Further signs of discontent came during a National Hockey League game between the Toronto Raptors and the Los Angeles Clippers in Ottawa, where Canadian fans booed as the US national anthem was sang.
