Elon Musk’s call for breaking up Canada this week was swiftly rejected by two provincial leaders. After Musk posted on X that Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Quebec would all be better off on their own, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe answered with a single-word post: “No.” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith also said she firmly rejects Musk’s view, the CBC reports.
Musk was commenting on the victory of the separatist Bloc Quebecois in Quebec’s provincial election. Premier-designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has promised to hold a referendum on independence, though he says the vote won’t be happen until after President Trump leaves office, CTV News reports. Quebec narrowly voted to stay in Canada in a 1995 referendum. Polls show support for independence has fallen to around 30%, per the BBC.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, asked about Musk’s remarks, said it is a reminder that Canada’s future is for Canadians to decide. Canada should be “free from foreign interference of foreign governments and large tech firms that think they can tell us what to do,” he said. Alberta is preparing for an Oct. 19 referendum on whether to stay in Canada or pursue a second, binding independence vote. Smith has said she will vote to stay in Canada.
Musk, who has Canadian citizenship through his mother, lived there for several years before he moved to the US in the mid-1990s. A petition calling for his citizenship to be revoked received almost 400,000 signatures. Canada welcomed Musk to North America and gave him “a way out of mandatory military service in South Africa,” Vinay Menon writes at the Toronto Star, calling for Musk to be awarded a “National Medal of Ingratitude.”