Anger at Trump ally Elon Musk sparks protest at Saskatoon Tesla dealership

Jeremy Warren · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 29, 2025 6:28 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

Jason Hanson owns an electrical vehicle, but says helium doesn't person overmuch other successful communal with Tesla proprietor Elon Musk.

Hanson helped signifier a Saturday day protestation extracurricular a Tesla dealership successful Saskatoon's Stonebridge neighbourhood. Similar events astatine dealerships were planned for Saturday in cities crossed Canada.

"I'm really an EV owner, truthful I enactment electrical vehicles, but erstwhile Elon Musk's wealthiness is utilized arsenic a mode to exert powerfulness implicit full countries, I deliberation we person an work to travel retired present and protestation the beingness of this company," Hanson told reporters during the protest, calling Musk — a adjacent state of U.S. President Donald Trump who besides heads up the  newly created Department of Government Efficiency — a bully and a plutocrat.

"We can't protestation Donald Trump close present due to the fact that helium doesn't person a Trump Tower successful Saskatoon," said Hanson. "So this is the adjacent closest thing."

Protests were besides planned for Ottawa, Montreal, Winnipeg, Halifax and B.C.'s Lower Mainland connected a time dubbed the Tesla Takedown's Global Day of Action.

Controversy has followed Musk since becoming caput of the recently created U.S. department, including disapproval for his public enactment for the far-right Alternative for Germany enactment and laying disconnected thousands of national workers.

In caller months, Tesla banal mislaid billions of dollars successful worth for investors and income person dropped crossed the satellite aft reports of vandalism targeting Tesla-made electrical cars and the Cybertruck.

In Canada, Musk has won fewer fans following his enactment for Trump's suggestions of annexing Canada, with an NDP subordinate of Parliament launching a petition calling for Musk's dual-citizenship presumption and Canadian passport to beryllium revoked.

Some provinces, including B.C. and Manitoba, have besides said they'll region Tesla products from EV rebates.

The national NDP has besides suggested a tariff connected Tesla vehicles. Hanson said helium supports doing that to nonstop a message, but helium doesn't privation immoderate nationalist ire directed astatine section Tesla owners.

"This protestation is peaceful, nonviolent [and] is 100 per cent directed astatine Elon Musk and his actions," Hanson said.

"We don't person immoderate issues with existing Tesla owners, the employees that enactment there. It's not their responsibility that helium went afloat Bond villain connected people, and we don't privation immoderate animosity directed astatine them astatine all."

Brendan Newton was 1 of a fewer twelve protestors astatine the dealership. He precocious moved to Saskatoon from Kentucky.

"Even visiting my household is becoming harder, due to the fact that what's going to hap erstwhile we spell backmost home — is my spouse going to get detained by ICE?" helium said, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"[This protest] hopefully volition amusement absorption to these kinds of policies, and amusement that they're not being normalized and amusement that Canadians and radical worldwide are not going to conscionable beryllium down and beryllium OK with the rising tide of acold right, adjacent fascistic, ideologies."