Will Elon Musk influence the Canadian elections?

For several days, the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, has meddled in Canadian political life by praising Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and criticizing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in less than pleasant terms.

Elon Musk openly took Mr. Poilievre’s side by reposting his messages on X and applauding his speeches and other media interventions.

In mid-December, he commented with an emoji 100 % under a publication on extremely impressive and that he should be Canada’s next leader.

In a very different way, he described the Prime Minister asunbearable asshole. And according to Elon Musk, the year 2025 looks goodin part, due to the resignation of Mr. Trudeau.

On Wednesday, he mocked the Canadian head of government’s assertion that never, ever, will Canada be part of the United States. Elon Musk reacted by saying that what Mr. Trudeau said n’a plus d’importanceno longer being governor of Canada, thus using the word previously used by Donald Trump.

Poilievre avoids commenting on Musk’s remarks

Asked about Elon Musk’s support during his first press conference after the announcement of Justin Trudeau’s resignation, Pierre Poilievre kicked in.

My 3 year old son just announced to our family that he wants to visit the planet Mars. So obviously, Mr. Musk, that’s a good contact to have in this caseMr. Poilievre first said on Thursday.

He then moved to the economic field, explaining that if he had the chance to speak directly to Mr. Muskhe would ask him how to attract more investment to Canada.

I think Mr. Musk is the founder and owner of the largest automobile company in the world, he said. How can we, without doing corporate BS, attract this investment here in Canada? For what […] has our government kicked out all these investments in the United States?

An influence beyond borders

Elon Musk is not at his first attempt. Earlier this year, he was accused in Germany of interfering in that country’s upcoming elections, to be held on February 23, for his support for the far-right leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD). ), Alice Weidel, who is a fierce critic of multiculturalism.

Some prominent members of theAfD were ostracized for their failure to condemn Nazi war crimes.

Last year, a German court declared the party officially suspected of extremism, allowing German security services to continue monitoring their activities and communications.

In Britain, the owner of X also initially supported the party Reform UK of Nigel Farage, promising him a donation of 100 million dollars. However, Elon Musk turned against Mr. Farage, because the latter refused to support far-right activist Tommy Robinson, currently in detention.

In mid-December, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX was appointed by Donald Trump to head a commission to government efficiency.

Elon Musk has a connection to Canada. He was born in South Africa, but his mother Maye Musk is from Saskatchewan. He moved to Canada in 1989 and attended Queen’s University for two years before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania.

With information from CBC, the Canadian Press and Le Monde