Can Canada revoke Elon Musk’s citizenship?

Jacqueline Bart
BARTLAW, Toronto, Ontario
bart@bartlaw.ca

Clara Morrissey
BARTLAW, Toronto, Ontario
info@bartlaw.ca

Introduction

In February 2025, petition e-5353 to the Canadian parliament was opened for signature. The petition calls on the Canadian Prime Minister to revoke Elon Musk’s Canadian citizenship status. The grounds for revocation cited in the petition are as follows:

‘Whereas:

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.’^[1]

The petition is open to signature until 20 June 2025, and to date has over 368,000 signatures.

The petition reflects serious concerns Canadians have regarding their sovereignty and foreign influence in their electoral process. However, currently the Canadian Citizenship Act does not allow for revocation of citizenship on the grounds listed above. In order to revoke Canadian citizenship from Elon Musk on the grounds specified in the petition, significant amendments to the Canadian Citizenship Act would be required.

Legal basis and procedure for revocation of citizenship

Section 7 of the Canadian Citizenship Act (RSC, 1985 c C-29) ('the Act') stipulates that a person who is a Canadian citizen shall not cease to be a citizen except in accordance with the Act and Regulations. The Act outlines two methods by which a person may cease to be a Canadian citizen: voluntary renunciation, or revocation. Section 9 of the Act specifies the conditions under which a Canadian may voluntarily renounce their citizenship status. Section 10 of the Act allows citizenship to be revoked by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. Section 10 only permits the Minister to revoke citizenship under the following conditions:

‘The Minister may revoke a person’s citizenship or renunciation of citizenship if the Minister is satisfied on a balance of probabilities that the person has obtained, retained, renounced or resumed his or her citizenship by false representation or fraud or by knowingly concealing material circumstances.’

The Minister does not have the power to unilaterally revoke citizenship under Section 10. The Act first outlines procedural fairness obligations which must be followed, including providing written notice of the grounds on which the government is seeking to revoke citizenship, and an obligation to consider any representations made in response. This provides the person who is potentially subject to revocation of citizenship an opportunity to explain their circumstances and any mitigating factors which may influence the Minister’s decision, such as for example the best interests of a child directly affected. If, after considering these factors, the government still intends to revoke citizenship, the matter must be referred to the Federal Court. Unless the person explicitly waives their right to a court hearing, the final decision is made by the Canadian Federal Court.

Currently, Canadian law does not provide for any other method through which the government can revoke citizenship other than on the grounds that the citizenship was obtained by false representation or fraud, or by knowingly concealing material circumstances.

The right to citizenship versus grant of citizenship

How a person initially obtained citizenship will affect whether or not citizenship can be revoked pursuant to Section 10 of the Act. Section 3(1) of the Citizenship Act outlines the circumstances under which a person is a citizen of Canada. This section includes persons who were born in Canada, as well as certain persons who were born to a Canadian parent. Such persons have a right to Canadian citizenship. They are entitled to apply directly for a Canadian citizenship certificate and passport, rather than applying for a grant of citizenship.

A person who is not a Canadian citizen by virtue of their birth or parentage under Section 3(1) must apply for a grant of citizenship under Section 5 of the Act. This requires first successfully obtaining Canadian permanent resident status and having lived in Canada for a minimum of three years prior to making the application. In most cases the applicant is also required to demonstrate proficiency in English or French, file taxes in Canada, and successfully pass a test to demonstrate knowledge of Canada’s history, government and laws. If successful, the applicant swears an oath of citizenship. Persons who complete this process are referred to as ‘naturalized citizens’.

The legal basis on which naturalised citizens obtain both permanent resident status and subsequently citizenship is more complicated and involves more opportunity for false representations or fraud. As such, cases of revocation under Section 10 typically involve naturalised citizens rather than persons who obtain citizenship by birth or descent. Examples of instances where the government may seek revocation under Section 10 could include for example: a person who was found to have fraudulently claimed to be living in Canada in order to meet residency requirements; a person who knowingly made false representations in a refugee claim in order to obtain permanent resident status; or a person who concealed a criminal record which, if disclosed, would have rendered them inadmissible to Canada.

In the case of Elon Musk, according to available sources his mother was born in Canada in 1948.^[2] Elon Musk was subsequently born in 1971 in South Africa.^[3] As the first-generation child of a Canadian-born mother, Elon Musk is therefore a citizen of Canada by descent pursuant to Section 3(1) of the Act. The petition to revoke citizenship does not allege any fraud or false representations relating to the grounds through which he obtained citizenship, that is, his mother’s birth in Canada. As such, his Canadian citizenship could not be revoked under the current version of the Citizenship Act.

Conclusion

The Canadian government is planning to amend the Citizenship Act following the Ontario Superior Court’s decision in Bjorkquist et al v Attorney General of Canada 2023 ONSC 7152, which found certain provisions relating to second-generation citizenship by descent to be unconstitutional. While as of this date, parliament is currently prorogued, a new bill introducing changes to the Act is expected to be introduced once parliament resumes sitting. To date, amendments to the laws surrounding revocation have not been proposed. However, the popularity of the petition e-5353 could raise the issue for discussion once parliament resumes. We should consider whether revocation of citizenship is the most appropriate method for addressing the concerns raised by the petition, or whether other legal instructions such as for example the Canadian Criminal Code or the Canada Elections Act could provide better legal tools to address concerns around sovereignty and election interference. At this time, without significant amendment to the Citizenship Act, the Canadian government cannot legally grant the petition’s request to revoke Elon Musk’s citizenship.