Thousands of Canadians sign petition to revoke Musk’s citizenship
Amid tensions between the Trump administration and Canada, thousands of people have signed a petition to revoke Elon Musk’s Canadian citizenship.
A petition opened five days ago accused Mr. Musk of acting in Canada’s national interests and undermining his sovereignty.
In Canada, Citizenship can be revoked Only someone commits fraud, misrepresents themselves or intentionally hides information about immigration or citizenship applications. Mr. Musk, born in South Africa, has Canadian and U.S. citizenship.
“Canada is not a real country,” the billionaire wrote on X in response to the petition. The post was later deleted.
Petition Claiming that the billionaire “used his wealth and power to influence our elections” is “a member of a foreign government trying to eliminate Canadian sovereignty.” Mr. Musk was born in Saskatchewan through his mother and has Canadian citizenship.
The petition launched on February 20 has been signed by more than 250,000 Canadians and has remained open until June 20.
It is mainly symbolic and has no legal power. But there are at least 500 signed petitions and supporters of one parliament usually receive a response from the government, which may not be because the spring election may dissolve the parliament.
It was created by British Columbia writers and endorsed by New Democratic Congressman Charlie Angus. Angus, a 20-year member of Congress for Timmins-James Bay, declared that he would not seek re-election.
The BBC has contacted his office for comment.
Tensions in the U.S. and Canada have escalated since Trump’s return, with the president repeatedly suggesting that Canada could become a U.S. state and threatening tariffs on steel, aluminum and other imports.
Canadian leaders took a step back and vowed to fight the election.
Spit out of the government, Canadians canceled U.S. travel, boycotted U.S. products, and booed opposing national anthems in hockey and basketball games.
Mr. Musk moved to Canada from South Africa at the age of 18 and worked as a gig before studying at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. Later he immigrated to the United States.
The billionaire supports Trump’s tough immigration policy but is now facing scrutiny on his student visas working illegally in the United States.
In a recent interview, Steve Bannon, former adviser to President Trump, called Mr. Musk a “parasitic illegal immigrant.”
The Tesla CEO denied the allegations and said he did not work illegally. According to a recent biography, he became a U.S. citizen in 2002.
The BBC has contacted Mr Musk through its business.
