The Gentleman Report
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Greater than 250,000 Canadian voters and citizens have signed a parliamentary petition urging Canada to revoke Elon Musk’s citizenship and passport.
Musk’s affiliation with US President Donald Trump, who plans to levy a 25% tariff on all Canadian imports subsequent month and who has proposed annexing the rustic because the 51st state, is “in opposition to the nationwide passion of Canada,” the petitioners declare.
The tech billionaire, a citizen of South African, Canada, and america, has turn out to be one in every of Trump’s maximum visual allies because the forty seventh president started his 2nd time period ultimate month.
“He has used his wealth and gear to steer our elections,” the petition claims. “He has now turn out to be a member of a overseas govt that is trying to erase Canadian sovereignty.”
In a reaction to information in regards to the petition, Musk wrote on his social media community X that “Canada isn’t an actual nation.” The Gentleman Report has reached out to Musk’s representatives for remark.
The petition, addressed to Canadian Top Minister Justin Trudeau, calls for that he “revoke Elon Musk’s twin citizenship standing, and revoke his Canadian passport efficient straight away.”
Whilst one professional advised The Gentleman Report that the federal government can’t revoke Musk’s legally got citizenship, the writer of the petition says it will have to be observed as a “name to duty.”
Musk, who was once born in Pretoria, South Africa, has in the past mentioned that he got a Canadian passport as a young person via his mom, Maye Musk, who was once born in Canada. The billionaire later got US citizenship a decade after arriving in america on a scholar visa.
An digital parliamentary petition calls for the preliminary enhance of no less than 5 Canadians, the authorization of a member of parliament, and an preliminary evaluate earlier than it could actually begin to accumulate signatures, in keeping with Canada’s Space of Commons.
The petition to revoke Musk’s citizenship is open till June 20, 2025, and then the clerk of petitions should certify that no less than 500 of its signatures are authentic. From there, the petition will have to wait till a brand new consultation of parliament opens earlier than it may be introduced to the Space of Commons for debate.
Charlie Angus, a member of parliament from the left-wing New Democratic Birthday celebration, is indexed because the petition’s sponsor. The Gentleman Report has reached out to Angus, in addition to the petition’s writer Qualia Reed, for remark.
Reed, a sci fi writer from British Columbia, wrote Monday on social networking website Bluesky that they “by no means anticipated this petition to unfold up to now and so rapid.” Reed additionally underlined to the petition’s rising collection of supporters that it was once now not intended to be a private assault.
“To (be) transparent, this motion I began, and all of you might be spreading and rising, isn’t about non-public assaults,” Reed wrote, “It’s about making sure that those that affect international insurance policies and industries know that the folk don’t seem to be k with their loss of moral accountability.”
Trump’s widespread voicing of his need to make Canada the “51st state,” has long past so far as mocking Trudeau on social media because the “Governor” of Canada. In early February, Trudeau warned a meeting of personal sector executives that Trump’s danger to annex Canada “is an actual factor,” in keeping with two industry leaders who heard the top minister’s remarks.
There are few precedents for citizenship revocation in Canada. 1000’s of Eastern Canadians, together with voters, have been “successfully denationalized” all over International Struggle II and deported again to Japan, in keeping with College of Toronto regulation professor Audrey Macklin in a 2021 article for the Manitoba Legislation Evaluation.
Then again, “Canada does now not revoke citizenship this is lawfully got. Which means that there may be in truth no method of revoking Elon Musk’s Canadian citizenship, except he got it by way of fraud or misrepresentation,” Macklin advised The Gentleman Report.
A 2014 regulation known as the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act in the past incorporated provisions to revoke citizenship if a dual-national Canadian was once convicted of “nationwide safety offenses.”
Trudeau promised to repeal the regulation when he ran for high minister. By means of 2017, the denaturalization provisions have been got rid of, and a brand new regulation re-nationalized any Canadian stripped in their citizenship on nationwide safety grounds.
The Gentleman Report’s Clare Duffy and Paula Newton contributed reporting.
