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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney is the latest Canadian politician to rebuff statements by a high-tech billionaire that provinces would be “better off” seceding from Canada.
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Speaking at a press conference in Sherbrooke, Que., on Thursday, Carney addressed Musk’s comments — made Wednesday on X in reply to a post quoting newly elected Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon as saying Quebec’s independence “will be realized one day.”
“Good, Quebec should separate,” Musk said in his reply to the tweet, which as of Friday morning garnered over 18,000 likes and over 2,200 retweets.
In a reply to his own tweet, Musk added, “they would be better off. Alberta and Saskatchewan should separate too.”
In Quebec, Carney told Musk to stay in his lane.
“The future of Canada will be decided by Canadians,” Carney said, surrounded by many of his government’s Quebec MPs.
“The priorities are affordability, social justice — including what we just discussed on homelessness — building a strong Quebec within a strong Canada, and a strong Canada that means more independent, more sovereign, more prosperous.”
Carney said Canadians can live how they choose, free from “interference from foreign governments and large tech firms that think they can tell us what to do.”
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Actually, Musk *is* Canadian
Plamondon is leader of the separatist Parti Québécois, which snagged a minority government win during Quebec’s provincial elections.
Carney’s dismissal of the SpaceX and Tesla founder’s comments aside, Musk holds Canadian citizenship through his mother, Regina-born Maye Musk.
Musk moved from South Africa to Canada in 1989 to avoid compulsory military service, and worked a variety of jobs in rural Saskatchewan and at a Vancouver lumber mill before relocating to Kingston to study business and physics at Queen’s University.
He also interned at Scotiabank in Toronto during his studies, and has fathered children with three Canadian women.
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Other politicos react to Musk’s comments
Carney’s comments come after other Canadian politicians weighed in on Musk’s words.
“No.” was Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe’s response to Musk, made on Wednesday in a quote tweet.
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That sentiment was shared by Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas, who also replied with the word “No.”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, whose province will face an independence referendum in two weeks, maintained on Wednesday that Alberta’s place is within a united Canada.
“I am going to do whatever I can to convince as many Albertans as possible that Canada can work and hopefully win them over to that view,” Smith said, adding that her province’s relationship with Ottawa had greatly improved since Carney became PM.
“That’s because the fight to make Canada work for Alberta is producing results. When Alberta stood up and spoke out and refused to back down, the rest of the country started listening. That’s why I believe our best days are still ahead, as a strong Alberta within a united Canada.”
— With files from the Edmonton Journal and Postmedia
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