OTTAWA — As U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk take aim at Canada, some high-level observers are calling on the federal government to consider sanctioning or even banning corporations owned by those close to Trump — much as it did with Russian oligarchs after the invasion of Ukraine.
"We better have a report coming up on American interference," former foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy said at a recent panel discussion.
He told the Jan. 27 event held by the Canadian International Council that he's increasingly worried about meddling in Canadian domestic affairs by Musk, a social media mogul and the world's 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 don't screw the thing up, and make sure that we aren't denied our rightful place to make our own choices" in the next election.
Musk has emerged as a close ally of Trump. He raised some $200 million US for Trump's election campaign and attended the president's swearing-in ceremony. At an inauguration rally later that day, Musk made a gesture that many interpreted as a Nazi salute; he denied that was the case.
In recent weeks, Musk has promoted far-right groups and parties engaged in election campaigns in Germany and the U.K. He addressed supporters of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in Halle, Germany on Jan. 25.
He has been accused of using his social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, to spread disinformation about European policies on public safety and online regulation.
Musk also has tweeted occasionally about Canadian politics. He praised Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's resignation and dismissed him online by echoing Trump's talk of Canada becoming a U.S. state.
"Girl, you're not the governor of Canada anymore, so (it) doesn't matter what you say," Musk posted on Jan. 8.
Musk has faced pushback elsewhere over allegations of meddling in democracy. For five weeks ending last October, Brazil's supreme court had internet providers block X over a dispute that stemmed from the company's refusal to ban far-right accounts affiliated with a 2023 attack on that country's 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 site's algorithms are boosting far-right views while limiting other perspectives.
Musk is also CEO of the automotive corporation Tesla. Liberal leadership candidate Chrystia Freeland recently called on Ottawa to impose a 100 per cent tariff on Tesla vehicles in retaliation for Trump's planned 25 per cent tariffs.
University of Waterloo political scientist Emmett Macfarlane has called on the federal government to go much further. In a Jan. 21 blog post, he argued that Ottawa should consider banning X, Tesla and Musk's satellite broadband company Starlink.
"We should treat Trump and members of his administration like Elon Musk as akin to Russian oligarchs," Macfarlane wrote. "We need to impose meaningful costs on the U.S. for its 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 the U.S. and people in Trump's inner circle using the same logic of containment that Washington applied to the Soviet Union after the Second World War.
Axworthy described that policy as one of deploying sanctions and diplomatic measures that send a strong message without leading to direct conflict.
"Every time they may make a move, there's a counter-move," he said. "Do it nicely, do it quietly — but also let them know what's happening."
NDP MP Charlie Angus said recently that he's asked Elections Canada to join European efforts to investigate the algorithms used by X "to see if (Musk) is trying to push content for extremist groups."
"I do not believe we're prepared in any way for dealing, particularly, with the threat that is coming from Elon Musk, who has revealed himself to be dangerously anti-democratic," he said.
He criticized those who seek to "appease the gangster class from Mar-a-Lago," referring to Trump's private residence.
The Canadian Press has asked for Musk's response to these criticisms through the media relations offices for X and Tesla.
Axworthy said Trump's "threats" to expand American territory — and make Canada part 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 argued Canada instead "almost threw Mexico under the bus" when Trump started threatening tariffs. Some premiers suggested that Canada draft a trade deal with the U.S. separate from Mexico and blamed the country for driving Trump's concerns about fentanyl and migration.
"If you're into a tough negotiation, it's better to have three people" on your side, Axworthy said.
Former prime minister Joe Clark told last Monday's panel that Washington has become a "hostile neighbour" and Canada must 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."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 3, 2025.
Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press