Carney Says Canadians Will Decide Their Future After Musk Backs Separatism

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke out on Thursday after tech billionaire Elon Musk posted on social media calling for three Canadian provinces to separate from Canada. Carney told reporters that Canadians — not foreign voices — would decide their country's future. His remarks came one day after Musk weighed in on a major election in Quebec that put a separatist party in power.

Musk posted on his platform X that Quebec 'should separate' from Canada. He also wrote that Alberta and Saskatchewan 'would be better off' splitting away. Musk, who was born in South Africa and holds Canadian and American citizenship, is widely known as the world's richest person and the first-ever trillionaire.

Carney pushed back firmly on Musk's comments. He said Canadians should be free to live by their own languages and cultures without outside pressure. He specifically called out 'foreign governments and large tech firms that think they can tell us what to do.'

Musk's post came after Monday's provincial election in Quebec, where the separatist Parti Québécois, or PQ, won. The party's leader is Premier-designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon. However, experts say the win did not mean most Quebec voters want to leave Canada.

The PQ won only about 28% of the popular vote and did not win a majority of seats in Quebec's legislature. Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, said the election was driven more by people wanting to remove the old government than by a real push for independence. He added that support for Quebec separating from Canada sits at only around 30%.

In Alberta, voters are set to weigh in on October 19 about whether the province should stay in Canada or move toward a future vote on separation. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she will vote for Alberta to remain part of Canada. She also said the desire for separation in her province has gotten weaker lately.

Smith said progress between her government and Carney's federal government helped ease tensions. 'The federal government has changed. Their approach to us has changed and they're willing to work together on addressing those issues,' she said in Edmonton. Her words suggested that cooperation, not separation, was the path forward for Alberta.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe had a much shorter reply to Musk's social media post. He responded on X with just one word: 'No.' His brief answer made it clear that provincial leaders were not interested in taking cues from Musk about breaking up Canada.