Carney Hits Back at Musk: Canadians Will Decide Canada's Future
The world's richest man weighed in on Canada's future this week — and Canada's prime minister did not take it quietly. After Elon Musk publicly backed separatist movements in Quebec, Alberta and Saskatchewan, Prime Minister Mark Carney fired back, declaring that Canada's future will be decided by Canadians, free from interference by "large tech firms that think they can tell us what to do."
What Musk Said on X
Musk made the comments on Wednesday, Oct 7, responding on X to a post about Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, the leader of Quebec's separatist Parti Québécois, who became premier-designate after his party won Monday's provincial election.
"Good. Quebec should separate," Musk wrote. He added: "They would be better off. Alberta and Saskatchewan should separate too."
The posts were classic Musk: short, blunt and posted to his hundreds of millions of followers on the platform he owns. Within hours, they were being quoted across Canadian and international media, landing at one of the most delicate moments in the country's recent political history.
Carney's Sharp Response
Carney responded the next day, Thursday, while speaking to reporters in Sherbrooke, Quebec.
"The future of Canada will be decided by Canadians and the priorities of Canadians, the priorities of the people of Quebec," he said. He listed those priorities as affordability, social justice and the fight against homelessness — and building "a strong Quebec within a strong Canada."
Carney said Canadians should be free to live according to their languages and cultures, without interference "from foreign governments and large tech firms that think they can tell us what to do."
He did not name Musk directly. He did not have to. The remark landed the next day in news reports around the world as a direct clapback at the billionaire.
Carney has also framed the moment as a question of national sovereignty. "A strong Canada means more independent, more sovereign, more prosperous," he said, in a line that captured both the separatism debate and the country's broader push to reduce its dependence on its southern neighbour.
A Touchy Moment for Canada
The spat could hardly have come at a more sensitive time. Quebecers had just elected a sovereigntist government on Monday, Oct 5, putting the question of independence back in the spotlight for the first time in years.
The Parti Québécois won about 28 per cent of the popular vote — enough for a minority of seats in the 127-seat National Assembly, but well short of a majority. Experts cautioned against reading the result as an independence mandate. Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University, said the result did not amount to a clear endorsement of separation, estimating support for independence at around 30 per cent. He argued that many voters were simply seeking to remove the outgoing Coalition Avenir Québec government.
Premier-designate St-Pierre Plamondon has promised to hold off on any independence referendum until 2029 or 2030 — after Donald Trump leaves office — suggesting the issue will simmer rather than boil for the next few years.
Meanwhile, Alberta faces its own reckoning. On Oct 19, Albertans will vote on a question about the province's future in Canada. Elections Alberta, the province's independent elections agency, confirms the ballot asks whether Alberta should remain a province or begin the legal process toward separation that could lead to a binding referendum later.
Carney has said the Oct 19 vote is non-binding and does not trigger the federal Clarity Act — the law that gives the House of Commons the final say on whether a secession question is clear and whether a clear majority has voted for it. Without both, Ottawa cannot negotiate a separation.
The Prairie premiers, for their part, refused to engage with Musk's pitch. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's reply was a single word: "No." Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said her government, caucus and party all support Alberta remaining in Canada. Smith, who has said she will vote to remain, added that separatist sentiment in the province had weakened as her government and Carney's administration worked to address Alberta's concerns.
A History of Bad Blood: Starlink and Tesla
Carney's pointed reference to "large tech firms" follows more than a year of escalating clashes between Canadian governments and Musk's companies — clashes that have already cost real money.
The biggest fight has been over Starlink, the satellite internet service run by Musk's SpaceX. In 2025, Ontario cancelled a $100-million Starlink contract meant to connect rural homes and businesses, citing Musk's stance on the trade war. The province paid SpaceX a kill fee it described as "significantly less than the contract value," though the exact amount is confidential.
Ottawa may be next. In an interview with The New York Times last month, Carney said Canada would reduce its reliance on the service. "Starlink, we will diversify away from, no question," he said at the time.
Tesla has felt the chill too. In March 2025, Ottawa froze $43 million in Tesla claims under the federal Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles rebate program and barred Tesla vehicles from future rounds while U.S. tariffs remain in place. Transport Canada later found that the claims legitimately represented cars sold before the program's cutoff — but the freeze, and the message behind it, stood.
The pattern is clear: as political tensions with Musk have grown, Canadian governments at multiple levels have moved to cut his companies out of public money.
What This Means
For markets, the separatism talk has so far been more noise than signal. The Canadian dollar was little changed after the Quebec election, according to online broker VT Markets. Bond investors are paying closer attention: on election night, Quebec's 30-year bonds traded more than 9 basis points above comparable Ontario debt, up from about 7 two weeks earlier — a small but real premium that reflects perceived political risk.
For Carney, the exchange offered a chance to draw a line that his government has been drawing for months: Canada's sovereignty is not up for debate, and not up for auction to the highest bidder on social media. By framing Musk's intervention as foreign interference — from a tech billionaire rather than a government — he turned an awkward moment into a rallying point.
For Musk, the episode is the latest in a long pattern of weighing in on other countries' politics, from Britain to Germany to Brazil. It is also a reminder that his influence has limits: the premiers of the very provinces he named were quick to swat the idea away.
What Happens Next
The immediate test is Alberta's Oct 19 vote. While non-binding, the result will be read as a measure of separatist sentiment in the province — and as a verdict on whether Carney's reconciliation efforts with the West are working.
In Quebec, the separatist government will settle in and govern without a majority, which means any move toward a referendum will have to wait. The 2029 or 2030 timeline floated by St-Pierre Plamondon keeps the issue alive but deferred.
And the Carney-Musk feud is unlikely to end here. With Ottawa reviewing its dependence on Starlink and Tesla still frozen out of federal rebates, the next chapter of the dispute may play out not on X but in government procurement decisions — where, unlike on social media, the prime minister holds the stronger hand.
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