CanadaShould Canada ban X and Tesla? Why calls are growingBy Dylan RobertsonThe Canadian PressPosted February 3, 2025 9:25 amUpdated February 3, 2025 12:42 pm5 min readIf you get Global News from Instagram or Facebook - that will be changing. Find out how you can still connect with us.1:34Trump tariffs: Doug Ford bans contracts with U.S. companies like StarlinkTrump tariffs: Ontario's Doug Ford bans contracts with U.S. companies like Starlink.AsU.S. President DonaldTrumpand ElonMusktakeaimatCanada, some high-levelobserversare callingonthe federal government to consider sanctioning or even banningcorporationsowned by those close toTrump muchasit did with Russian oligarchs after the invasion of Ukraine.We better have a report coming uponAmerican interference, former foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy saidata recent panel discussion.He told the Jan. 27 event held by the Canadian International Council that hes increasingly worried about meddling in Canadian domestic affairs byMusk, a social media mogul and the worlds richest man.He added that other owners of big digital platforms could undermine Canadian democracy.They are going to try to affect our election, said Axworthy, who was foreign minister from 1996 to 2000.Axworthy argued the federal government must make sure that they dont screw the thing up, and make sure that we arent denied our rightful place to make our own choices in the next election. Muskhas emergedasa close ally ofTrump. He raised some $200 million USforTrumps election campaign and attended the presidents swearing-in ceremony.Atan inauguration rally later that day,Muskmade a gesture that many interpretedasa Nazi salute; he denied that was the case. 1:03Elon Musk defends one-armed gesture at Trump inaugurationIn recent weeks,Muskhas promoted far-right groups and parties engaged in election campaigns in Germany and the U.K. He addressed supporters of the far-right Alternative fr Deutschland (AfD) in Halle, GermanyonJan. 25.He has been accused of using his social media site X, formerly knownasTwitter, to spread disinformation about European policiesonpublic safety and online regulation.Muskalso has tweeted occasionally about Canadian politics. He praised Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus resignation and dismissed him online by echoing Trumps talk ofCanadabecoming aU.S. state. Get breaking National newsFor news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.Girl, youre not the governor ofCanadaanymore, so (it) doesnt matter what you say,MuskpostedonJan. 8. Muskhas faced pushback elsewhere over allegations of meddling in democracy.Forfive weeks ending last October, Brazils supreme court had internet providers block X over a dispute that stemmed from the companys refusal to ban far-right accounts affiliated with a 2023 attackonthat countrys Parliament.X ultimately complied with those orders and paid millions of dollars in fines.The European Commission is investigating whether X is breaching EU content-moderation rules. It has stepped up a probe launched in 2023 by seeking new information to determine whether the sites algorithms are boosting far-right views while limiting other perspectives.Muskis also CEO of the automotive corporation Tesla. Liberal leadership candidate Chrystia Freeland recently calledonOttawa to impose a 100 per cent tariffonTesla vehicles in retaliationforTrumps planned 25 per cent tariffs. 2:02How Canadians are planning to push back against Trump-imposed tariffsUniversity of Waterloo political scientist Emmett Macfarlane has calledonthe federal government to go much further. In a Jan. 21 blog post, he argued that Ottawa should consider banning X, Tesla and Musks satellite broadband company Starlink. We should treatTrumpand members of his administration like ElonMuskasakin to Russian oligarchs, Macfarlane wrote. We need to impose meaningful costsontheU.S.forits economic aggression.Both Freeland and Macfarlane cited concerns about tariffs, not political interference.But Axworthy said both things should worry the federal government. He said Ottawa should apply measures to theU.S. and people in Trumps inner circle using the same logic of containment that Washington applied to the Soviet Union after the Second World War. Axworthy described that policyasone of deploying sanctions and diplomatic measures that send a strong message without leading to direct conflict.Every time they may make a move, theres a counter-move, he said. Do it nicely, do it quietly but also let them know whats happening.NDP MP Charlie Angus said recently that hes asked ElectionsCanadato join European efforts to investigate the algorithms used by X to see if (Musk) is trying to push contentforextremist groups.I do not believe were prepared in any wayfordealing, particularly, with the threat that is coming from ElonMusk, who has revealed himself to be dangerously anti-democratic, he said. 2:04China and Mexico follow in Canadas footsteps, vow swift response to Trump tariffsHe criticized those who seek to appease the gangster class from Mar-a-Lago, referring to Trumps private residence. The Canadian Press has askedforMusks response to these criticisms through the media relations officesforX and Tesla.Axworthy said Trumps threats to expand American territory and makeCanadapart of the United States should be met with a united front among the countries he is talking of absorbing.I would be more supportive if our foreign minister was visiting Greenland and Denmark and Panama and Colombia and Mexico to talk to them about, How do we contain this a hole?' he said.Axworthy arguedCanadainstead almost threw Mexico under the bus whenTrumpstarted threatening tariffs. Some premiers suggested thatCanadadraft a trade deal with theU.S. separate from Mexico and blamed the countryfordriving Trumps concerns about fentanyl and migration.If youre into a tough negotiation, its better to have three peopleonyour side, Axworthy said.Former prime minister Joe Clark told last Mondays panel that Washington has become a hostile neighbour andCanadamust manage the relationship without losing sight of its own interests and relations with other countries.No one knows when the barrage will stop, he said. We have a role of our own, a history of our own (and) interests of our own in the wider world. Journalistic standardsReport an error&copy 2025 The Canadian Press