Petition To Strip Elon Musk Of Citizenship Gets 250,000 Signatures

More than 284,000 people have signed a petition on the Canadian Parliament website calling on Elon Musk to be stripped of his Canadian citizenship, as his actions “go against the national interest of Canada.”

Newsweek contacted Musk, via the Tesla and SpaceX press offices, and also Charlie Angus, the Canadian member of parliament who sponsored the petition, for comment on Wednesday, by email outside of regular office hours.

Why It Matters

Since becoming president for the second time on January 20, Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants Canada to join the American Union as its 51st state, and has taken to mockingly referring to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a governor.

Shortly after his inauguration Trump announced he would impose a 25 percent tariff on all goods from Canada in response to what he claimed was Ottawa’s failure to tackle illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking into the U.S. Following discussions with Trudeau these were delayed for 30 days, but on Monday Trump said they were still “going forward” when this time runs down.

Trump’s actions have sparked a sharp deterioration in relations between the U.S. and Canada, traditionally close allies. Canadians have booed the American national anthem at ice hockey and basketball games, whilst some consumers north of the border are boycotting U.S. made products.

What To Know

Musk heads up the newly created U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which Trump launched to tackle what he perceives as wasteful government spending, and is one of the president’s closest political allies.

The petition, addressed to Trudeau, calls on the prime minister to “revoke Elon Musk’s dual citizenship status, and revoke his Canadian passport effective immediately.”

It gives four reasons for such a move to take place, which are: “Elon Musk has engaged in activities that go against the national interest of Canada; He has used his wealth and power to influence our elections; He has now become a member of a foreign government that is attempting to erase Canadian sovereignty; and The attempts of Elon Musk to attack Canadian sovereignty must be addressed.”

The petition was initiated by Qualia Reed from Nanaimo, British Columbia, and was sponsored by Angus, an MP for the left-wing New Democratic Party. To appear on the Canadian parliament website a prospective petition needs the support of at least five Canadians as well as authorization from an MP.

Why Does Elon Musk Have Canadian Citizenship?

Musk was born in South Africa but emigrated to Canada in 1989 achieving citizenship via his Canadian born mother, Maye Musk. He spent three years in the country before moving to the USA on a student visa. The Washington Post has reported that he briefly worked in the country illegally.

In 2002 Musk became a naturalized American citizen, according to a 2023 biography from Walter Isaacson.

Can Canada Strip Elon Musk of Citizenship?

Canadians can only lose their citizenship if it was fraudulently obtained, or if they are a dual-citizen and are convicted of a handful of extremely serious crimes including terrorism, or serve in the military of a country that is at war with Canada.

None of these apply to Musk, so his citizenship should be safe, though the Canadian parliament could theoretically pass legislation to change this criteria if it wants to.

What People Are Saying

CNN reported that Musk responded to the petition on his X website, commenting: “Canada is not a real country.” However the post has since been deleted.

Posting on Bluesky on Monday about his petition Reed, a science fiction author, commented: “I want to say that I never expected this petition to spread so far and so fast, but here we are.

“What started as a call for accountability has now become a national conversation. As of this morning, over 100k people have signed to express their concerns, and the media has taken notice. Unfortunately this has caused me to begin receiving threats of a disturbing nature.

“That being said, the kind messages I have received from people all over the world have been truly amazing. People have said that seeing this petition spreading like this has given them hope at a time where they were feeling helpless.”

What Happens Next

As Musk doesn’t appear to meet any of the legal thresholds for Canadian citizenship being revoked, the chances of this actually happening are very unlikely.

However, if Trump does go ahead with his threatened 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods, relations between Washington and Ottawa would almost certainly deteriorate further, potentially to their lowest point since the end of WWII.