Sydney Johnson
Over 250,000 Canadians have signed a petition to revoke Elon Musk’s citizenship as his relationship with Donald Trump continues to stir controversy.
Since the beginning of Trump’s second presidency, tech-billionaire Elon Musk has strengthened his involvement with the US administration.
He has even become a senior advisor to the US President, with Trump appointing him leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, also known as D.O.G.E.
Musk and his department are striving to “help modernise Federal technology and software to maximise governmental efficiency and productivity.”
Since starting, Musk has cut hundreds of federal agencies, whilst also claiming to have saved the country more than $55 billion from fraud detection and deletion.
“Those who have signed the petition claim that Musk’s recent actions go against the national interest of Canada”
According to the Pew Research Centre, just over half of US adults say they have an unfavourable view of Musk, including 36% who have a ‘very unfavourable’ opinion of him.
However, around four in 10 expressed a favourable view, including 11% who had a ‘very favourable’ view.
Trump and Musk have both mentioned a wish to make Canada the “51st” state of the USA, with Musk saying in a now-deleted post on X that Canada was “not a real country”.
As such, more than 250,000 Canadians have signed a petition asking for the government to strip Elon Musk of his Canadian citizenship.
In Canada, your citizenship can be revoked if you have done one of the following:
- Committed fraud
- Misrepresented yourself
- Hid information on an immigration or citizenship application
Those who have signed the petition claim that Musk’s recent actions go against the national interest of Canada, as he “has used his wealth and power to influence our elections.”
In a statement on social media, the original creator of the petition, Qualia Reed, said: “I never expected the petition to spread this fast.
“It’s about ensuring that those who influence global policies and industries know that the people are not okay with their lack of ethical response.”
Former Canadian President Justin Trudeau has responded with a “hard no” to Trump’s comments about annexing Canada as a 51st state for the U.S.
In an interview with MSNBC, he said: “I know as a successful negotiator he likes to keep people off balance. The 51st state, it’s not going to happen.”
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Feature image courtesy of Hermes Rivera on Unsplash. No changes have been made to this image. Image license can be found here.
Sydney Johnson
Hello! My name is Sydney and I am a junior content editor and freelance journalist. I'm a US-native and have a background communications, video production and marketing. I like to spend my free time reading, writing, traveling and trying new restaurants.