How did Elon Musk become a Canadian citizen?

Elon Musk has citizenship of three countries: South Africa, the United States, and Canada.

Musk gained Canadian citizenship at birth, when he was born in Pretoria, South Africa. Musk’s mother, Maye Musk, was born a Canadian citizen in Regina, Saskatchewan, so Musk automatically inherited Canadian citizenship by descent.

Under Canada’s current laws, children born outside Canada can inherit Canadian citizenship from their parents, but only for one generation. This means that if a parent is a Canadian citizen before their child is born, either by birth or through naturalization, the child receives citizenship even if they are born outside Canada.

A recent e-petition is urging that Canada revoke Musk’s Canadian citizenship, citing his involvement in activities deemed contrary to Canada’s national interests. It states that he has “now become a member of a foreign government that is attempting to erase Canadian sovereignty.”

The petition, initiated by British Columbia-based author Qualia Reed and sponsored by NDP Member of Parliament Charlie Angus, has just over 340,000 signatures at the time of this writing.

The businessman and key advisor to US President Donald Trump responded to news about the petition in a now-deleted post on X (formerly known as Twitter) saying, “Canada is not a real country.”

Despite the petition’s widespread support, immigration lawyers by and large say the document is unlikely to affect Musk’s Canadian citizenship. Citizenship in Canada can only be revoked if it can be proven that fraud or misrepresentation was committed to obtain it.

The rest of this article will cover

What is required to become a Canadian citizen;
The situations in which Canadian citizenship can be revoked;
Forthcoming changes to the Canadian Citizenship Act.

A person can acquire Canadian citizenship at birth, for example, by being born in Canada (country of birth), or by being born to a Canadian parent (by descent).

Someone who is not born a Canadian citizen can become a Canadian citizen later by first becoming a permanent resident, and next being naturalized as a Canadian citizen.

Schedule a Free Canadian Citizenship Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm

Canadian citizenship at birth

You automatically gain Canadian citizenship at birth if you are

Born on Canadian soil (with a few exceptions); or
Born abroad and at least one of your parents was a Canadian citizen at the time of your birth.

Getting Canadian citizenship by having been born outside Canada to one or more Canadian citizens is called citizenship by descent.

Canada currently has a second-generation cut-off rule, which prevents Canadian citizens who gained citizenship by descent when born abroad from passing on their citizenship by descent to their own children born abroad. This law may be changing soon, as we discuss below.

Canadian citizens born in Canada or naturalized aren’t affected by this rule.

How you can become a Canadian citizen through naturalization

Individuals who did not gain Canadian citizenship at birth may gain it later in life through naturalization.

The Canadian Citizenship Act regulates how individuals can obtain Canadian Citizenship through naturalization.

To qualify for Canadian citizenship by naturalization, individuals must fulfill a set of specific criteria:

Be a Canadian permanent resident (PR);
Meet Canada’s physical presence requirements;
Have filed their taxes (if applicable);
Pass a Canadian citizenship test;
Prove their language proficiency; and
Take the oath of citizenship.

Permanent resident status

If you want to apply for Canadian citizenship, you must first be a permanent resident of Canada. You can apply for citizenship even if your PR card has expired at the time you submit your application.

Physical presence in Canada

To apply for citizenship, a permanent resident must have lived in the country for a minimum of 1,095 days (three years) within the last five years before applying.

Permanent residents who have also spent time in Canada as temporary residents or protected persons can count some of this time toward the physical presence requirement. You can count each day spent in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person as a half-day toward the physical presence requirement calculation, up to a maximum of 365 days.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) recommends applying with more than 1,095 days in case there is a problem with your calculations.

Children under 18 years of age are required to hold PR status but are exempt from the three-year physical presence requirement.

Crown servants or family members of Crown servants may also include time spent outside Canada in their calculations.

Tax filing

You must have filed Canadian income taxes if legally required to do so within the five year period.

Passing a Canadian citizenship test

You will have to pass a citizenship test if you’re between the ages of 18 and 54 at the time you sign your application—IRCC will invite you to complete one post-submission.

The test is 45 minutes long and can be taken in either English or French. It will contain a total of 20 multiple choice and/or true-or-false questions.

You must receive a mark of 15 out of 20 to pass.

It will include questions about

The rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizens; and
Canada’s history, geography, economy, laws, and national symbols.

Most applicants will be invited to complete the test online unless accommodations are required, in which you may take the test via Microsoft Teams, in person, or be given a test in a different format.

You can find the free official study guide for the citizenship test online. It is titled Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship.

Proving your language skills

If you’re between ages 18 and 54 on the day you sign your citizenship application, you will be required to demonstrate that you have adequate knowledge in one of Canada’s official languages: English or French.

Your speaking and listening skills must meet a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level four or higher.

“Adequate knowledge” means you can

Engage in brief, everyday conversations on familiar topics;
Comprehend simple instructions, questions, and directions;
Use fundamental grammar, including basic sentence structure and verb tenses; and
Demonstrate familiarity with common words and phrases to respond to questions and communicate ideas effectively.

You will be required to provide language proof in the form of certificates, diplomas, and/or tests. Having attended a secondary or post-secondary program in English or French can be used to your benefit as proof of your language proficiency.

IRCC will measure your language skills by reviewing the proof you’ve sent, taking note of how well you speak to a citizenship official during your application process, and assessing your level of language during a citizenship test with an official (if necessary).

Taking the oath of citizenship

Once IRCC approves your application, and if you’re at least 14 years of age, you will be invited to a citizenship ceremony wherein you take the oath of citizenship. This is the last step before becoming a Canadian citizen.

The invitation will specify

The date and time of your ceremony;
The ceremony format (virtual or in person);
The link (if virtual) or location (if in person); and
The language in which the ceremony will be conducted (mostly English or French, or bilingual).

IRCC permits ceremony rescheduling if the reason you need to reschedule is deemed valid.

Citizenship ineligibility

There are certain legal and criminal issues that may prevent you from becoming a Canadian citizen.

You can be barred from citizenship for reasons such as

Criminality;
National security;
Misrepresentation; or
Being subject to a removal order.

When can the government revoke a person’s Canadian citizenship?

Under Canadian law, the federal government can only revoke someone’s Canadian citizenship if they obtained, retained, renounced, or resumed their citizenship through fraud or misrepresentation.

Knowingly concealing material circumstances can also lead to revocation of Canadian citizenship.

Minister Marc Miller will send a written notice to the individual in question, and they must respond within 60 days of the notice being sent.

How to gain Canadian PR

Foreign nationals seeking Canadian citizenship must first become permanent residents of Canada.

There are three types of ways a foreign national can gain Canadian permanent residence.

Economic immigration;
Family sponsorship; or
Humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

Economic immigration is the most common pathway to Canadian PR and is designed to attract workers who can contribute to Canada’s economy. The largest economic pathways to permanent residence in Canada are

Express Entry; and
The Provincial Nominee Program.

Under these two umbrellas, there are over 100 different permanent residence streams.

Discover if You Are Eligible for Canadian Permanent Residency

The province of Quebec manages its own immigration system, so foreign nationals seeking to settle in Quebec as PRs must follow Quebec’s processes in order to be considered.

Family sponsorship involves being sponsored by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. There are requirements both for the sponsor and for the sponsored foreign national. The following individuals can be sponsored through various pathways:

Spouses, common-law partners, and conjugal partners;
Dependent children;
Parents or grandparents;
Other relatives.

The Humanitarian and compassionate PR application offers individuals already in Canada to remain in the country if they have compelling reasons that justify humanitarian and compassionate considerations. You must not be eligible to apply for PR through standard PR pathways, and only exceptional circumstances will be considered.

Forthcoming changes to citizenship by descent

How Canada will handle citizenship by descent moving forward remains up in the air.

In 2009, the Canadian federal government amended the Citizenship Act. The new legislation included a “second-generation cut-off,” whereby Canadian citizens who acquired citizenship by descent when born abroad would not pass on Canadian citizenship by descent to their own children born outside Canada.

In December of 2023, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice declared the second-generation cut-off unconstitutional, and instructed the federal government to amend the Citizenship Act to restore constitutionality. The Court provided the federal government a six-month grace period to revise the legislation. Since then, the federal government has yet to introduce the corrective legislative changes, and three extensions to the original deadline have been granted. The latest extension, as of the time of writing, pushed the deadline to March 19, 2025.

In May of 2024, the government unveiled Bill C-71, which would allow citizenship by descent for Canadians born abroad provided that the parent passed a “substantial connection to Canada” test—defined as having lived in Canada for at least 1,095 prior to the birth or adoption of their child.

However, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigning as liberal party leader early January of 2025, Parliament was prorogued. This means that the current session of government has ended, and all ongoing legislative business—including bills that have not yet passed—is terminated.

There is a potential for the Bill C-71 to be reintroduced after Parliament resumes session, but as of right now the future of Canadian citizenship by descent remains relatively uncertain.

If the federal government once again misses the deadline, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice may choose to extend the deadline once more.

If an extension is not granted, The Ontario Superior Court of justice could read down or strike down the problematic sections of the legislation, effectively nullifying the second-generation citizenship by descent cut-off rule.

Striking down essentially means that the specific provisions brought forth will be declared invalid and unenforceable. The second-generation cut-off would be rendered inoperative.

If the court read down the offending portions, that means the court would interpret or modify the provisions to make them consistent with constitution requirements—involving narrowing their scope or application.