Over 160,000 people have signed a petition to the Canadian parliament calling on the country to strip Elon Musk of his citizenship over his role in the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly threatened Canadian sovereignty.
Since he was elected in November, Trump has boasted of his intention to annex Canada and turn the independent country into the 51st state of the U.S.
In an affront to diplomatic protocol, he has mocked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by referring to him as “Governor” and earlier this month he threatened Canada with 25 percent tariffs that have been halted pending negotiations.
Musk—who serves as a senior adviser to Trump and is the de facto head of the president’s federal spending task force DOGE—has Canadian citizenship through his Saskatchewan-born mother, Maye.
He is thought to have fathered at least 13 children, three of them with Canadian musician Claire Boucher, who performs as Grimes.
The petition to revoke Musk’s citizenship was initiated on Feb. 20 by Qualia Reed, an author who lives in the western coastal province of British Columbia.
It has since garnered support from tens of thousands of people across the country, including in all 10 Canadian provinces and in the country’s three territories.
The petition has also found a parliamentary sponsor in Charlie Angus, a left-wing opposition lawmaker from Ontario who has called Trump a “liar” and his administration a “criminal gang.”
Petitions to the House of Commons require at least 500 signatures to receive certification with Canada’s House of Commons and potentially earn a response from the government.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, was born in South Africa to a South African businessman. In addition to citizenships in his birth country and his mother’s homeland, he is a naturalized American citizen.
Reed’s petition accuses Musk of having “engaged in activities that go against the national interest of Canada” and notes he is “a member of a foreign government that is attempting to erase Canadian sovereignty”. It asks Trudeau to “revoke Elon Musk’s dual citizenship status, and revoke his Canadian passport effective immediately.'
Musk is not directly involved in Trump’s foreign policy, having instead been charged with leading a purge of U.S. federal government workers at the president’s behest.
He has, however, repeatedly shown affection for Pierre Poilievre, Canada’s Conservative leader whose sloganeering, “anti-woke” politics have echoed some of Trump’s pet issues.
Poilievre will face off against Trudeau’s party successor in an election sometime later this year after the governing Liberals select a new leader.
