After Donald Trump marched back to power to become the 47th President of the United States earlier this week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk was asked by one follower when voters can expect change in Canada.
Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party remain in power despite their overwhelming unpopularity in the polls and calls by the federal Conservative Party to call an early election.
“@elonmusk we need your help in Canada getting rid of Trudeau,” one person pleaded tagging the billionaire in a post to X.
“He will be gone in the upcoming election,” Trump supporter Musk replied.
Musk’s response racked up over 26,000 likes and generated more than a 1,000 replies.
“No doubt. The ball is rolling,” one follower wrote, with another adding, “Canadian citizens have been abused enough by him. He should apologize.”
Back in 2022, Musk compared Trudeau to Adolf Hitler in a social media post that supported truckers protesting vaccine mandates. “Stop comparing me to Justin Trudeau,” the meme featuring a picture of Hitler read. He later deleted the tweet.
Trump’s decisive win this week prompted discussions about relations between Canada and the U.S. Following Trump’s victory, Trudeau revived a Canada-U.S. relations cabinet committee that hadn’t met since the former president left office the first time back in 2021.
As the U.S. embarks on the early stages of planning mass deportations of illegals, questions remain as to how Canada will respond if thousands of migrants from the United States head north of the border.
In 2017, after Trump issued an executive order banning refugees from Muslim-majority countries, Trudeau tweeted the country would welcome refugees.
“To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada,” he posted on social media.
Trump has also promised to impose a 10-to-20% tariffs on all goods flowing into the United States, which would be a blow to the country’s manufacturing sector.
Trudeau, who has been prime minister since 2015, tried to put on a brave face after Trump’s victory, saying on Wednesday that the partnership between the two countries is one the rest of the world envies.
“I know President Trump and I will work together to create more opportunity, prosperity, and security for both of our nations,” Trudeau said on X.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland also tried to give off an air of calmness.
“A lot of Canadians were anxious throughout the night and I want to say … that Canada will be absolutely fine,” she said. “We have a strong relationship with the United States, we have a strong relationship with President Trump and his team.”
But Trudeau had a rocky relationship with Trump during his tenure as president. Back in 2019, following a NATO meeting in London, Trump hit out at Trudeau after the prime minister was caught on a hot mic with then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron making fun of the president’s tardiness at a Buckingham Palace reception.
“He was late because he takes a 40-minute press conference off the top,” Trudeau said. “I watched his team’s jaws drop on the floor.”
Afterwards, Trump called Trudeau “two-faced.”
“Honestly with Trudeau he’s a nice guy, but the truth is I called him out on the fact he’s not paying 2% (in defence spending) and I guess he’s not happy about it,” Trump said.
A year prior, following a G7 summit in Quebec, Trump called Trudeau “very dishonest & weak” after the Canadian leader threatened to escalate a trade war between the two countries.
Elsewhere, Trump referred to Trudeau as a “far-left lunatic” following Ottawa’s harsh response to the “Freedom Convoy” protests that crippled the nation’s capital back in 2022.
“The Freedom Convoy is peacefully protesting the harsh policies of far-left lunatic Justin Trudeau who has destroyed Canada with insane COVID mandates,” said Trump in a statement.
Trump added that his social media site Truth Social would welcome Freedom Convoy supporters.
“Facebook is cancelling the accounts of Freedom Convoy USA, and GoFundMe is denying access to funds that belong to the Freedom Convoy. This is unacceptable and extremely dangerous in any country that values free expression,” he said.
In an August interview with video game streamer Adin Ross, Trump floated a popular conspiracy theory that Trudeau was the son of Communist Leader Fidel Castro.
“He’s turned very liberal, actually they say he’s the son of Fidel Castro, and could be,” Trump told Ross in a video that has been viewed more than 2.7 million times on YouTube. “Anything’s possible in this world, you know?”
Trump said that he and Trudeau got along “very well,” but hinted that he is well aware that the Liberal leader is headed for political annihilation amid his sagging popularity amongst Canadians.
“He seems to be going very progressive and the people of Canada are not liking it,” Trump added in his interview with Ross. “If they had a good conservative person — which maybe they do, maybe they don’t, I don’t know — but somebody that’s a strong conservative would win in Canada. Canada is very unhappy about the way they’ve been treated as people, but I got along with him well.”