Musk Pushes for Independence of Three Canadian Provinces, Carney Strikes Back: No Tolerance for Foreign Tech Giants Interfering in Internal Affairs

According to the international edition of The Hindu, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney issued a firm rebuttal on October 8 in response to U.S. tech mogul Elon Musk's open promotion of Quebec, Alberta and Saskatchewan's secession from Canada, explicitly warning that interference by "foreign governments and large tech companies" in Canadian internal affairs should not be tolerated.

"The future of Canada will be decided by Canadians, by the priorities of Canadians, by the priorities of the people of Quebec," Carney said at a press conference held in Sherbrooke, Quebec. He added that Canadians have the right to live according to their own language and culture, rather than taking orders from "foreign governments and large tech companies that think they can tell us what to do."

On October 7, Musk posted on the X platform he owns: "Good. Quebec should be independent. They would be better off. Alberta and Saskatchewan should be independent too." The post came against the backdrop of the Bloc Québécois (PQ) winning the October 6 provincial election, with its leader Paul-St-Pierre Plamondon set to become premier. However, there is a marked gap between Musk's advocacy and Quebec's actual electoral situation — the Bloc Québécois secured only about 28% of the popular vote and failed to win a majority in the provincial legislature. McGill University political science professor Daniel Béland noted that support for independence stands at only about 30%, and that this election was mainly driven by voters' desire to oust the CAQ (Coalition Avenir Québec) government, rather than by separatist sentiment.

Meanwhile, Alberta is scheduled to hold a vote on October 19 on "whether to stay in Canada." Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has stated she will vote against (i.e., to stay in Canada), and said that separatist sentiment in Alberta has waned because her government and the federal government led by Carney are cooperating to address Alberta's concerns. "The federal government has changed, their attitude toward us has changed, they are willing to work with us to resolve these issues," Smith said in Edmonton. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe was even more direct, responding to Musk on X with a single word: "No."

The Hindu described Musk as a South Africa-born Canadian-American and the world's first trillionaire. The X platform he controls has the attributes of a global information infrastructure, enabling a single brief post of his to instantly push other countries' political issues onto the international agenda — this is the real-world context behind Carney's targeting of "large tech companies."