Mike Myers Explains Origins of Recent Canadian Political Activism

As Mike Myers has returned to Saturday Night Live in recent weeks to play Elon Musk, the Canadian comedian has also used his time on the NBC sketch comedy show to support his native country, particularly as President Trump has imposed tariffs and expressed a desire to make Canada America’s 51st state.

At the end of the March 1 episode, Myers proudly showed off his “Canada Is Not for Sale” T-shirt and mouthed “Elbows up” into the camera, twice. In a subsequent appearance, he sported a “Canadian Tire” shirt during the “goodnights” segment at the end of the episode.

The initial act of sartorial diplomacy, Myers said, came as he “got angrier and angrier” thinking about Trump’s comments and tariffs and acted from his heart.

“What happened came from my ankles and from my brain and from my heart, and it was not about me — it was about my country,” Myers told The New York Times in a recent interview. “I wanted to send a message home to say that I’m with you, you know.”

Myers, who’s now a U.S. citizen and splits his time between New York and Vermont, said of Trump’s moves against Canada, “What’s happened has really hurt our feelings. We love America. We love you guys. We don’t understand what this madness is. … Americans are the last people you would think would ever be a threat to us.”

After his SNL advocacy, Myers appeared alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in an ad for Canada’s Liberal Party, where the comedian wears a jersey that reads “Never 51.”

In the hockey rink-set video, Carney notes that Myers lives in the U.S., but the Wayne’s World star says he’ll “always be Canadian.” The PM then quizzes the comedian on Canadian culture.

“I wanted it to be like, ‘I know I don’t live there anymore, and let’s talk about that,’” Myers said of his approach to the ad. “I thought it would be funny if the prime minister of Canada ran an identity test on me.”

Of Carney, Myers said, “I think he’s very reasonable. He’s taken a calm, resolute, articulate stance in defense of our sovereignty.”

As for Musk, Myers said his involvement in the Trump administration, “goes against how I feel as a Canadian.”

“We don’t have a distrust of the government,” he added. “We have a belief in good government.”

And Myers stressed the value of comedy against political extremism.

“Fascism doesn’t like to be ridiculed; it likes to be feared,” he said. “Satire is an important tool in the toolbox to say that this is not normal — that the cuts he’s making are not normal.”

Myers’ interview comes ahead of Monday’s parliamentary election in which Canadians vote for a new government.