Amidst heightened diplomatic tensions between Canada and India, Elon Musk's reaction to posts on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has resonated with many social media users in India. In recent days, the billionaire has replied to or quoted several posts on X that criticise Mr Trudeau. Last week, Mr Musk predicted Justin Trudeau's downfall in the upcoming election, which is set to take place on or before October next year. "He will be gone in the upcoming election," Mr Musk wrote on X while responding to a user's request to help Canada get rid of Mr Trudeau.
The billionaire also reshared another post showing a graph on how Canada's GDP per capita has fallen under the Trudeau government. "Wow," he wrote while reacting to the tweet.
Reacting to Mr Musk's tweets, one Indian X user wrote, "He (Justin Trudeau) is another woke virus run by Khalistani terrorists. He has no respect anywhere." "We agree with you," said another.
"Cannot wait! Trudeau is a disaster! commented X user Udayan Mukherjee. "Hope your words turn into reality next yr," said user Shubham Chaudhary.
Mr Musk slammed the Justin Trudeau government last year as well for "crushing free speech" in the country. After the Canadian government made it compulsory for online streaming services to formally register with the government for "regulatory controls", Mr Musk called this policy "shameful" and wrote, "Trudeau is trying to crush free speech in Canada".
Before this, in February 2022, when Mr Trudeau invoked emergency powers - for the first time in the country's history - to arm his government with more power to respond to truckers protesting the vaccine mandates at that time, the billionaire compared him to Adolf Hitler.
Responding to an X post describing how Trudeau's government had ordered banks to help cut funding to the protesters, Mr Musk posted a meme of a photo of Hitler, with "Stop comparing me to Justin Trudeau" written above his head and "I had a budget" below it.
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These comments by Mr Musk come amidst heightened political and diplomatic tensions between India and Canada. India has raised concerns over extremism and anti-India activities within Canada, calling for action to counter these issues. The strained ties worsened following accusations by Canadian leaders about the killing of Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, leading India to recall its High Commissioner.
Moreover, in the past few months, the Indian community in Canada has also experienced a surge in violence and hostility, with reports ranging from vandalism of temples to verbal and physical assaults on individuals.
These recent events have raised alarm among Indian communities and their supporters. So naturally, Mr Musk's criticism of the Justin Trudeau government has resonated with many Indians, likely giving his popularity a boost in India.