Petition in Canada to revoke Elon Musk's citizenship

Over 230,000 Canadian citizens are calling for Elon Musk's citizenship to be revoked. The entrepreneur, who was born in Pretoria (South Africa) but also holds Canadian citizenship due to his maternal origins, ended up at the centre of a petition launched on 20 February by Charlie Angus, a New Democratic Party (NDP) MP. The text asks Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to strip Musk of his Canadian citizenship and passport for alleged "activities contrary to the national interest" of Canada.

In the petition, Angus claims that Musk "has used his wealth and power to influence" the Canadian elections, also calling him a "member of a foreign government that is trying to erase Canadian sovereignty". This is an obvious reference to Musk's closeness to US President Donald Trump, who has on several occasions advanced the idea of annexing Canada to US power, including through so-called 'economic force'.

The document will remain open for signatures until 20 June. Should it reach the required quorum (usually 500 signatures are sufficient to be debated in Parliament, but in this case the number of signatures is far higher), the petition will be officially presented to the Canadian House of Commons and, according to standard procedure, may receive a response from the government.

On X, in response to the criticism and the circulation of the petition, Musk wrote: "Canada is not a real country". A statement that ended up further igniting the debate both in Ottawa and in Canadian public opinion.

Musk's words follow the already complicated relations between the two countries, also marked by the announcement of possible additional tariffs on Canadian exports to the US. Prime Minister Trudeau said he was concerned by the US attitude and Trump's statements on annexation, saying he took seriously the threats that could undermine Canadian sovereignty.