As an industrial giant and the richest man in the world, Elon Musk has influence on the entire global economy. He is now using this success to expand his influence over the democratic process in Canada and elsewhere.
In the last week alone, Musk has delved into Canadian politics several times on his social media platform; supporting the Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, showering him with praise, reposting his tweets and applauding his speeches and media interactions.
At the same time, he mocked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau because of him resignationborrowing President-elect Donald Trump's language to refer to him as “Governor.” He is even called Trudeau an “intolerable tool”.
Perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise that Musk has turned his attention to Canada. Born in South Africa, his mother Maye Musk is from Saskatchewan. Musk moved to Canada in 1989 and studied at Queen's University for two years before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania.
Musk's influence venture gained momentum in 2022 when he bought Twitter, changing its name to X and rolling back rules governing content moderation and misinformation. Describing the move as a defense of free speech, Musk quickly restored the accounts of Canadian influencer Jordan Peterson and President-elect Donald Trump.
He then spent more than $200 million to support Trump's successful campaign to regain the US presidency.
His reward? A position to run Trump's proposed Department of Government Effectiveness and, perhaps more importantly, the president-elect's ear.
Despite having over 210 million followers on his own platform and Trump's friendship, Musk seems to want more ears than Trump and is stepping in political debates around the world.
“It's about positioning ourselves internationally as a thought leader, in quotation marks, who can rise above politics but also adapt to it when it suits him,” said Andrew Chadwick, professor of political communication at Loughborough University in the UK .
“I think Musk (his supporters) has aligned himself with what he sees as political movements around the world that share his libertarian media ideology, anti-state, anti-regulation, anti-legacy,” Chadwick told CBC News.
says Chadwick Poilievre's commitment to repeal The Liberal government's online harm legislation, which conservatives say is too broad and threatens to infringe on free speech, appeals to Musk, whom he describes as an “ideological platform tycoon.”
Christopher Cochrane, a professor of political science at the University of Toronto, believes it may simply be “vanity” forcing Musk to insert himself into political debates at home and abroad.
“It's extraordinary that he could buy an entire social media network, almost an alternative universe, and turn it into his own playground and place where he could amplify his political views,” he said.
“Just like he was able to invent electric cars and build a successful rocket company… now he's just discovered another field that other people aren't smart enough or brave enough or courageous enough or whatever to solve,” Cochrane said. “There is an element of hubris in it.”
To be fair to Musk, Cochrane says, “it would be hard not to be overconfident when you've had the success he's had with PayPal, Tesla, SpaceX and all these other things.”
Cochrane explained that Musk has managed to get heard not only because he is rich, but also because people may think that his success naturally translates into other areas.
“Of course there are people with high and very high levels of political sophistication who have no idea about rockets and electric cars, but there are certainly many people who have a lot of knowledge about rockets and electric cars and don't have particularly high political sophistication,” he added . Cochrane said. – That's what's happening here.
Chadwick has been keeping a close eye on Musk in recent months as owner X has begun to enter British politics, initially supporting Nigel Farage's Reform UK party and then in recent days turning against him when Farage refused to support far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
He says that when it comes to Musk's interest in Canada, his posts on X are very closely related to Trump's comments and the attacks that the president-elect directed at his northern neighbor.
“It's important to see this as part of the alignment of interests between Musk as a media owner, a platform owner and the Trump administration,” he said.
Chadwick says the irony of Musk's editorial stance is that when social media platforms emerged, their founders went to great lengths to argue that they shouldn't be held to the same standards as media organizations.
“And yet here we have a platform owner with 210 million followers who is now quite willing to use that platform to amplify his personal political views,” he said.
In Germany, Musk has backed far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) leader Alice Weidel, who is a fierce critic of multiculturalism. Some prominent AfD members do excluded for failing to condemn Nazi war crimes.
Last year, a German court found that the AfD was officially suspected of extremism, allowing German security services to continue monitoring their activities and communications.
Musk was accused in Germany of interference in the country's upcoming elections scheduled for February 23 for his support for the AfD and his promise to organize a live interview with Weidel on the X program on January 9.
Current21:11Why does Elon Musk interfere in world politics?
Elon Musk recently made the false claim that the British Prime Minister is “deeply complicit in mass rape” and suggested that the United States should liberate the country. This is just one example of a tech billionaire using his position and influence to meddle in international politics – what's his endgame?
Cochrane says that, by comparison, Musk's interest in Canada has been much milder.
“He controls an awfully large platform and has a pretty huge audience. Things aren't going well in Canada, so if he focuses on promoting Pierre Poilievre here, that's absolutely not the worst thing he could do,” Cochrane said.