Musk Advocates Independence for Three Canadian Provinces; Carney Strikes Back: No Tolerance for Foreign Tech Giants Meddling in Internal Affairs

According to the international edition of The Hindu, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on October 8 responded firmly to U.S. tech mogul Elon Musk's public advocacy for Quebec, Alberta, and Saskatchewan to separate from Canada, explicitly warning that meddling by "foreign governments and large tech companies" in Canada's 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 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 who 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 also be independent." The post came against the backdrop of the Parti Québécois (PQ) winning the October 6 provincial election, with its leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon set to become premier. However, there is a clear gap between Musk's advocacy and Quebec's actual electoral situation—the PQ received 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 independence support is only around 30%, and this election was primarily driven by voters' desire to oust the CAQ (Coalition Avenir Québec) government, rather than separatist sentiment.

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

The Hindu described Musk as a South African-born Canadian-American, the world's first trillionaire. The X platform he controls has become a global information infrastructure, allowing 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 targeting "large tech companies."