By Charnjot Shokar, M.A.
Elon Musk, the richest man in the world and former unpaid special government employee owns six businesses, including Tesla, SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), Neuralink, xAI, and The Boring Company. Several of these businesses lobby the Canadian federal government.
On February 1st, 2025, United States President Donald J. Trump launched a tariff war, imposing a series of tariffs on Canada and other countries. In response to the tariffs, some suggested targeting Musk companies as a form of retaliation. Canadian MP Chrystia Freeland advocated that Canada should place counter tariffs on Tesla in particular, in order to target key supporters of Trump, like Elon Musk. In March 2025, Freeland froze electric vehicle rebate payments for Teslas and sought to exclude the company from future rebate programs.
Meanwhile, Bell Canada has lobbied against Starlink, a subsidiary company owned by SpaceX, and their ability to receive government subsidies for telecom services. Bell argues that because of Starlink’s fixed national pricing model, it “will produce the perverse result that … revenues collected from southern Canadian consumers will be used to subsidize Starlink’s bottom line … ‘If this subsidy is extended to Starlink, it would be in spite of the fact that Starlink incurs no unique costs to serve the Far North than it does anywhere else in Canada.’” SpaceX’s counter argument is that this would be anti-competitive and unfair to those in remote communities, particularly First Nations people who, without Starlink, would have fewer options, as SpaceX would not be able to serve them without the subsidy.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford cancelled the province’s $100-million contract with Starlink in response to the tariffs, and Quebec announced that it will not renew its three-year contract with Starlink which ended in 2025. Ontario-based Xplore has lobbied Quebec in the hopes of being the replacement company to provide these telecom services to rural areas.
Who lobbies for Musk companies in Canada?
As per the registry of lobbyists, Musk-owned companies that have lobbied the government of Canada include:
- Tesla Canada / TESLA Motors / Tesla Motors Canada ULC – 45 registrations
- Space Exploration Technologies Company (SpaceX) – 9 registrations
- X Corp / Twitter Canada – 21 registrations
Various firms have been used to conduct the lobbying on behalf of the different corporations. The table below reflects Musk companies’ registered lobbyists that have held federal public office; contents of the table are taken from the registry of lobbyists.
| Name | Position | Firm | Active/Inactive | Organization | Public Office Held |
| Hendrik Brakel | Consultant | Sussex Strategy Group | Active | Tesla Canada | Director of Policy and Parliamentary Affairs, House of Commons, Office of the Leader of the Opposition (2021-2022), Chief Economic Advisor, House of Commons, Office of the Leader of the Opposition (2017-2021) |
| Bruce Hartley | Consultant | Prospectus Associates in Corporate Development | Active | SpaceX | Executive Assistant to the Prime Minister, Prime Minister’s Office (1995-2003), Legislative Assistant to the Prime Minister, Prime Minister’s Office (1993-1995) |
| Robert Evershed | Consultant | Prospectus Associates in Corporate Development Inc | Inactive | SpaceX | Prime Minister’s Office Assistant, Prime Minister’s Office Correspondence Unit (1988-1988), Special Assistant, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, Minister’s Office (1988-1991) |
| Michele Austin | Director, Public Policy (US & Canada) | N/A | Inactive | Twitter Canada | Legislative Assistant, House of Commons, The Office of James Rajotte, MP (2002-2006), Legislative Assistant, House of Commons, The Office of John Williams, MP (1996-1998), Senior Researcher, Office of the Leader of the Opposition, Policy and Research (1998-2001), Chief of Staff, Industry Canada, Minister’s Office (2006-2007), Chief of Staff, Public Works and Government Services, Shared Services Canada and Status of Women, Minister’s Office (2011-2012) |
| David Dyer | Consultant | The Capital Hill Group Inc. | Inactive | X Corp | Chief of Staff Industry/Consumer and Corporate Affairs, Minister’s Office (1985-1989), Director Communications Supply and Services, Services Directorate (1984-1985) |
| Fernando Minna | Consultant | The Capital Hill Group | Inactive | X Corp | Legislative Assistant, Office of Phil McColeman, MP Brantford-Brant, House of Commons (2008-2009), Policy Advisor, Office of Phil McColeman, MP Brantford-Brant, House of Commons (2016-2021), Policy Advisor, Public Works and Government Services Canada, Minister’s Office (2013-2015), Issues Manager, Public Works and Government Services Canada, Minister’s Office (2012-2013), Senior Special Assistant for Parliamentary Affairs, Public Works and Government Services Canada, Minister’s Office (2010-2012), Assistant to the Parliamentary Secretary, Public Safety, Minister’s Office (2009-2010) |
What do Musk companies lobby about in Canada?
As per the lobbying registry, the top five subject matters that Musk companies lobby for are as follows:
SpaceX: Industry (9), Economic Development (9), Telecommunications (8), Infrastructure (8), and Regional Development (8)
Tesla: Transportation (45), Energy (43), Environment (43), Climate (42), and Economic Development (41).
X Corp: Consumer Issues (7), Intellectual Property (7), Justice and Law Enforcement (7), Taxation and Finance (7), and National Security/Security (7).
Much of SpaceX’s lobbying pertains to two topic areas, Bill C-26 (An Act respecting cyber security, amending the Telecommunications Act and making consequential amendments to other Acts) and the implementation proposals in relation to cybersecurity, and “satellite and ground station policies and regulations in relation to an application for a Foreign Satellite Authorization (FSA) and broadband service.”
For Tesla, there are numerous subject matters that are lobbied. Charging stations, emission standards, Automated Driving Systems (ADS), and greenhouse gas reduction measures highlight the list. Tesla also made it clear that it “intends to participate in policy, regulatory and legislative consultations and processes that pertain to cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, information security, sourcing and trade matters associated with: connected vehicles, automated vehicles, automated driving systems, electric vehicles, battery energy storage equipment, and factory equipment.”
When it comes to X Corp, lobbying was conducted regarding legislative proposals as well as government policies. Some of the legislations discussed include the Bill C-27, An Act to enact the Consumer Privacy Protection Act, the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act and the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act and to make consequential and related amendments to other Acts, as well as Bill C-63, An Act to enact the Online Harms Act, to amend the Criminal Code, the Canadian Human Rights Act and An Act respecting the mandatory reporting of Internet child pornography by persons who provide an Internet service and to make consequential and related amendments to other Acts. Further, X Corp also lobbied on digital advertising and elections, particularly, governmental access to electronic communications.
What government institutions do Musk companies lobby in Canada?
Musk companies have lobbied numerous government institutions to date. A complete list of institutions was created using information from all active lobbying communications for each company as per the lobbying registry and is broken down below.
Tesla
- Finance Canada (FIN)
- Prime Minister’s Office (PMO)
- Global Affairs Canada (GAC)
- Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)
- Privy Council Office (PCO)
- Transport Canada (TC)
- Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS)
- Senate of Canada
- House of Commons
- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)
- Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)
- Infrastructure Canada (INFC)
- Parks Canada (PC)
SpaceX
- Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)
- Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)
- Privy Council Office (PCO)
- Prime Minister’s Office (PMO)
- Senate of Canada
- House of Commons
- Infrastructure Canada (INFC)
- Public Safety Canada (PS)
- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)
- Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)
- Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC)
- Indigenous Services Canada (ISC)
- Rural Economic Development (Minister’s Office)
- Women and Gender Equality (WAGE)
X Corp
- Canadian Heritage (PCH)
- Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)
- Finance Canada (FIN)
- Privy Council Office (PCO)
- Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS)
- Prime Minister’s Office (PMO)
- Senate of Canada
- House of Commons
- Public Safety Canada (PS)
- Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC)
- Elections Canada
- Competitions Bureau Canada (COBU)
- Global Affairs Canada (GAC)
- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)
- Women and Gender Equality (WAGE)
- Justice Canada (JC)