logo
Raging Grannies protest at Montreal Tesla dealership on Musk's birthday

Raging Grannies protest at Montreal Tesla dealership on Musk's birthday

CTV News20 hours ago

Ragging grannies take to Tesla to protest on Elon Musk's birthday
A small but determined group rallied on Saturday outside of Tesla's Montreal showroom as part of a larger anti-Elon Musk movement on his 54th birthday.
The 'Raging Grannies' wanted to protest Musk's ideas that they say puts Canada at risk.
'It's his birthday but we don't feel like celebrating,' said Marguerite 'Soleil' Bilodeau.
Bilodeau said Musk is using his influence to destabilize democratic values.
'He uses his privilege and his money to make matters worse- and all for his own benefit,' she said.
Raging Grannies protest in the rain
Raging Grannies protest at Tesla dealership in Montreal on June 28, 2025.
Dual Canadian-American citizen Randi Weitzner joined the grannies and said Musk has already done a lot of damage, including the recent slashing of federal jobs.
'When you see things going on that are anti-ethical to democracy, you have to get up, get out and do something about it,' said Weitzner.
While Musk and Trump's relationship has been complicated, U.S. politics expert Graham Dodds said he's long had significant influence on politics.
'The fact of the matter is, especially in the U.S., having a lot of money makes your political opinions count for a lot more,' said Dodds.
Musk's net worth is around $400 billion, heading, in addition to Tesla, SpaceX, and the social media company X.
'Which by most accounts was key to the rise of Trump in his first election, in his second election, and today,' said Dodds.
Dodds said that disinformation flows freely on the X platform, fueling extremists.
'A lot of the actions that Musk has dreamt of is hurting people everywhere,' said Raging Granny Sheila Laursen.
The Raging Grannies know they can't change the world alone, but Laursen said, they have a special strength.
'We have a power because we are old, we have lived a life, we have opinions and not always do we get them expressed, but we can when we're raging grannies,' she said.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Montreal asking rents up 71% since 2019: Statistics Canada
Montreal asking rents up 71% since 2019: Statistics Canada

Montreal Gazette

timean hour ago

  • Montreal Gazette

Montreal asking rents up 71% since 2019: Statistics Canada

By Asking rents for Montreal-area apartments have soared by hundreds of dollars per month since the beginning of the pandemic, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday. The asking rent for the average two-bedroom apartment increased by 71 per cent from 2019 to 2025, with the typical unit now going for $1,930 compared with $1,130 in 2019. One-bedroom apartments saw a 57 per cent increase from $980 in 2019 to $1,540 in 2025. The report notes that asking rents tend to be higher than rents paid by long-term tenants, and offer a picture of current market trends. The data comes on the heels of figures reported last week by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) that paint a similarly bleak picture of housing affordability in a post-pandemic Montreal. The national housing agency's report shows that mortgage costs and expenses for newly purchased homes in the Montreal area sat at 48 per cent of the average income as of 2024, compared with 34 per cent in 2019 — the worst deterioration in housing affordability of any major centre in the country. For the CMHC, the solution to rising unaffordability lies in increasing supply. 'There's a lot of things we can do to help foster more supply,' CMHC chief economist Matthieu Laberge said. According to the agency's model, Montreal-area builders would need to start work on about 72,000 units every year until 2035 to return to the 34 per cent housing-to-income ratio homeowners enjoyed in 2019. But the report says the area is only on track to build less than a third of those units — around 23,000 per year. 'We can't keep doing the same things we've always done,' Laberge said, suggesting affordability can be restored via 'new ways of building, like modular or prefabricated' housing. Regulations restricting housing also need easing, he said. But a McGill urban planning professor was skeptical, saying increased supply was no antidote to unaffordability. 'This whole idea that building more luxury housing means that we're going to have more affordable housing doesn't actually hold out,' Anna Kramer said. 'I'm extremely skeptical of those supply side reports that are put out by the CMHC and others, because it's really favouring the for-profit development industry,' she said. 'The larger picture is that housing is being financialized,' with developers' goals of increasing profits at odds with solutions to unaffordability. 'Instead of just saying a number of housing units,' Kramer said policy-makers need to make sure that the right types of units are being built — and ensure they stay at the right prices through measures including stronger rent control. She criticized Quebec's 2025 rent guidelines, which called for 5.9 per cent rent increases for units that don't include heating, leaving room for even higher increases in some cases. 'I'm always a bit cautious when I talk about financialization,' Laberge said, given that housing investments are often a way to save money and fund retirements. Though he said affordability would improve if housing became a less attractive investment, he pointed to remote work as a major reason that high housing costs spread to cities including Montreal. During the pandemic, Laberge said people from Vancouver and Toronto — where housing unaffordability was already prevalent — moved to places like Montreal. 'They went elsewhere in the country and propagated the affordability crisis,' he said. Increasing supply would return affordability to pre-pandemic levels across the country, Laberge said, creating acceptable conditions everywhere but Toronto and Vancouver, where he said more significant change is needed. Housing costs in those cities continue to top Montreal by a wide margin. Two-bedroom apartments are now listed at an average of $3,170 in Vancouver and $2,560 in Toronto, though average asking rents have slightly decreased in recent months in both cities. This story was originally published June 25, 2025 at 4:00 PM.

Michael Higgins: Hamilton's ban of a 'Woman: An Adult Female' billboard is irrational
Michael Higgins: Hamilton's ban of a 'Woman: An Adult Female' billboard is irrational

National Post

timean hour ago

  • National Post

Michael Higgins: Hamilton's ban of a 'Woman: An Adult Female' billboard is irrational

Article content However, an Ontario divisional court agreed that in rejecting the ad, Hamilton had followed proper procedure and been reasonable. The CHP is now raising funds to challenge the ruling, and the Appeal Court has agreed to hear the case. Article content The City of Hamilton did not answer a request for comment by press time. Article content A central issue, of course, is whether freedom of expression, as enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, is as sacrosanct as many believe it to be. Too often, our expected right to freedom of speech is being overthrown by courts or institutions because of someone's 'superior' right not to be harmed or offended. Article content The City of Hamilton didn't even wait for a complaint. The city, so sensitive to our cultural times, actively sought out people who might be offended and then based their rejection on the feedback. Article content When you are in a position of power, it is easier to censor the side you disagree with. Article content 'This is not a case where this was hate speech, or calling for violence, or causing any kind of danger,' says Milousis in an interview with the National Post. 'There is no reason why having this advertisement would make the transit system unsafe or unwelcoming.' Article content Article content She argues that the divisional court judgement appears to suggest that there is a right not to be offended or at least shielded from views that you disagree with. 'And that's not a constitutionally protected right.' Article content 'The expectation is that people in a democracy will be capable of handling robust discussion even on issues that they have strong opinions about,' says Milousis. Article content 'To be clear, this is not a debate about the existence of transgender people. It's just about how we define woman and how we define man and that is a very live political discussion,' she says. Article content Another concern is that if Hamilton bans a political message on an important public issue because it's too conservative, why can't another city ban something because it's too Liberal? We could have a patchwork of different political bans all over the country. Article content 'It raises deep concern about the democratic freedom of Canada,' she says. Article content Milousis also sees, 'a level of intolerance at the institutional and particularly the administrative level that is concerning.' Article content She cites the Saskatchewan student who faced a misconduct hearing for questioning diversity, equity and inclusion provisions. As well as the Manitoba medical student who was suspended for making pro-life comments. Article content

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store