More than 230,000 Canadians have signed a petition asking the country’s prime minister to revoke Elon Musk’s citizenship and passport, accusing the tech billionaire and Trump ally of joining a “foreign government that is attempting to erase Canadian sovereignty” and engaging in “activities that go against the national interest of Canada.”
Musk, who was born in South Africa and holds Canadian and U.S. citizenship, is playing a particularly prominent role in the second Trump administration. He oversees the U.S. DOGE Service – which has fired thousands of government employees in recent weeks as it looks to cut spending – and has continued to support President Donald Trump as Trump calls for Canada to become the 51st state and pushes for high tariffs on the United States’ northern neighbour.
Responding to the petition, Musk wrote on social media, “Canada is not a real country.”
As Musk seeks global political influence, he has repeatedly criticized Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s policies and mocked the Canadian leader, while endorsing clips of Pierre Poilievre, the head of Canada’s Conservative Party.
The petition – which was sponsored by Charlie Angus, a member of Parliament and critic of Musk – also accuses him of using his “wealth and power to influence our elections” and says attempts by Musk to “attack Canadian sovereignty must be addressed.” It needed 500 signatures to gain certification for presentation in the House of Commons, the lower house of Parliament.
Experts say that while it is unlikely the petition will be successful, given tight laws on revoking Canadian citizenship, it reflects the mood in a country where people are boycotting American products, cancelling trips across the border and politicizing sporting events in response to Trump’s threats.
Last week, after Canada beat the United States in the final of the 4 Nations Face-Off hockey tournament, Trudeau wrote on social media: “You can’t take our country – and you can’t take our game.”
Yasmeen Abu-Laban, a professor of political science at the University of Alberta, said the Trump administration’s stance has been particularly shocking to Canadians because Canada and the United States share many ties.
“It’s like your bestie is suddenly turning on you and trying to take away your house and bank account,” she said.
But Abu-Laban also stressed that “revocation of citizenship should be seen as a serious matter,” noting how in recent times in Canada, it has primarily been discussed in relation to immigrants who have committed fraud or crimes.
Musk, a naturalized American citizen, has Canadian citizenship through his mother, Maye Musk, who is from the province of Saskatchewan. Musk lived in Canada for three years starting in 1989 and studied at Queen’s University in Ontario before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania, Canadian media has reported.
Gideon Christian, a professor of artificial intelligence and law at the University of Calgary, said any revocation of Musk’s citizenship “would need to follow the legal procedures established for all Canadian citizens.”
Irene Bloemraad, an expert on citizenship and immigration who holds the President’s Excellence Chair in Global Migration at the University of British Columbia, said the government’s ability to revoke citizenship is “very limited” and largely restricted to cases in which someone has obtained citizenship by fraud.
“Even if the petition attracts millions of signatures, the government cannot just take away a person’s Canadian citizenship,” she said.
Nevertheless, Bloemraad said, the petition reflects “many Canadians’ dismay and outrage” at Musk’s statements about Canada and his support of a president “who is denigrating Canadians, challenging Canada’s sovereignty and threatening economic harm to a country that has been a friend and ally of the United States for generations.”