Petition Calls for Musk's Canadian Citizenship to be Revoked

Over 317,000 people want Musk's Canadian citizenship revoked

There's an online petition going around calling for the Canadian government to strip Elon Musk of his Canadian citizenship.

It has garnered over 317,000 signatures, making the petition the most popular in the history of the House of Commons.

British Columbia author Qualia Reed launched the petition last week, calling on the Canadian government to revoke Musk's citizenship and Canadian passport because of the role he is playing in US President Donald Trump's government.

MP Angus sponsored the petition

"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," reads the petition that was sponsored by New Democrat MP Charlie Angus.

Musk saw the petition and his response? "Canada is not a real country," he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

He was born in South Africa, though his mother Maye Musk was born in Regina, Alberta, which is how he got his Canadian citizenship.

"I left South Africa by myself when I was 17 and just a backpack & suitcase of books," he posted on December 28, 2019. "I worked on my Mom's cousin's farm in Saskatchewan & a lumber mill in Vancouver. Went to Queens Univ with scholarship & debt, then same to UPenn/Wharton & Stanford."

Musk met his first wife, Canadian author Justine Wilson, at Queen's University.

But while many are signing the petition to revoke Musk's Canadian citizenship, in reality it's not possible.

Musk's flippant response to the petition

Immigration lawyer Gabriela Ramo said under Canadian law, someone's citizenship can only be revoked if it can be proven they committed fraud or misrepresentation to obtain it.

"Before they could move to do this, they would need to introduce legislation, there would have to be amendments to the current Citizenship Act," said Ramo. "There's no provision that would allow them to pursue revocation of citizenship of a Canadian birth, by virtue of his birth to a Canadian mother."

As a result, it's fairly rare for Canadian citizenship to be revoked.

Angus admitted the petition is more symbolic, but has touched a nerve with a lot of people across the country.

"I wasn't expecting that it would explode the way it did," he said. "to me it was really instructive because it shows just how angry Canadians are about what's happening in Washington and how angry people are at the actions of Elon Musk. To me this is a real symbol of this moment."