Elon Musk’s alliance with Donald Trump, who has threatened to make Canada the ’51st state’, has seen the Tesla CEO accused of ‘attempting to erase Canadian sovereignty’
A Canadian petition to revoke Elon Musk’s citizenship has garnered more than 280,000 signatures amid growing tensions between the Trump administration and Canada.
The petition opened for signatures five days ago and accuses Musk of engaging in “activities that go against the national interest of Canada”. The petition alleges that Musk, who has been named a “special government employee” by Donald Trump, has now “become a member of a foreign government that is attempting to erase Canadian sovereignty”.
It comes as Trump plans to impose a 25% tariff on all Canadian imports next month. The US president has also suggested Canada should become the 51st state.
The petition, which is addressed to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, demands that he “revoke Elon Musk’s dual citizenship status, and revoke his Canadian passport effective immediately.” It also claims that the tech billionaire “used his wealth and power” to influence Canadian elections.
Musk, who was born in South Africa, holds dual American and Canadian citizenship. Responding to the petition, the Tesla CEO wrote on X: “Canada is not a real country”. He later deleted the post.
The SpaceX founder has previously revealed that he obtained a Canadian passport when he was a teenager through his mother, Maye Musk, who was born in Canada. He later became a US citizen after arriving in America on a student visa.
Since it was launched on February 20, the petition to revoke Musk’s Canadian citizenship has received just over 286,000 signatures. Canadian petitions with at least 500 signatures alongside a member of parliament’s backing usually receive a response from the government.
Revoking citizenship is not a common occurrence in Canada. The country is able to revoke citizenship but only in certain cases, including if the citizenship has been obtained by fraud, misrepresentation or withholding information on an immigration or citizenship application.
The petition was created by Qualia Reed, a sci-fi author from British Columbia, and has been endorsed by MP Charlie Angus of the New Democratic Party. Reed spoke out about the response the petition has received so far in a post on the social networking site Bluesky.
“To (be) clear, this action I started, and all of you are spreading and growing, isn’t about personal attacks,” Reed wrote, “It’s about ensuring that those who influence global policies and industries know that the people are not okay with their lack of ethical responsibility.”
