Joni Mitchell says she became U.S. citizen to vote, vows to never stop being Canadian
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TORONTO – Joni Mitchell may have just become an American citizen, but she insists she’ll never stop being Canadian.
The Alberta-born folk legend says her decision to obtain U.S. citizenship after more than six decades living south of the border was motivated by a desire to vote, and that she has no intention of giving up her Canadian passport.
“I became a citizen so I could vote. I didn’t give up my Canadian citizenship, and I never will,” Mitchell said Thursday in a statement.
“I’m a proud Canerican like Neil Young.”
The 82-year-old also shared the message on her Instagram story, offering some clarity after her naturalization announcement earlier this week prompted questions about her Canadian citizenship.
Mitchell broke the news Tuesday by posting a photo and video from her citizenship ceremony, showing her smiling and holding an American flag in front of U.S. and Department of Homeland Security flags.
“A journey that began 62 years ago,” read her caption.
Mitchell now joins fellow Canadian music icon Neil Young as a dual citizen. Young, who was born in Toronto, became an American citizen in 2020 after living in the United States for decades.
On Thursday, Mitchell also announced “NEWS,” a new book featuring 23 of her paintings that take aim at relentless news cycles and offer her response to “the world as she sees it today,” according to a release.
“In the current climate, I felt a need to express my concern,” said Mitchell in a statement. “It is an artist’s duty to speak up.”
The book is set for release Nov. 4.
Born Roberta Joan Anderson in Fort Macleod, Alta., in 1943 and raised in Saskatoon, Mitchell moved to Toronto in 1964 before relocating to Detroit with her then-husband and fellow musician Chuck Mitchell.
Following their divorce, she moved to New York, releasing her debut album “Song to a Seagull” in 1968 and her breakthrough second album, “Clouds,” the following year.
She currently resides in Santa Barbara, Calif., and maintains a second residence on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast.
Mitchell publicly lamented her inability to vote in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
During an October 2024 concert at the Hollywood Bowl, she delivered a profane, two-word rebuke of Donald Trump before urging the audience to cast their ballots.
“This is an important one,” she told the crowd. “I wish I could vote — I’m Canadian. I’m one of those lousy immigrants.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2026.