Joni Mitchell has explained why she became an American citizen after more than six decades in the United States. Mitchell, now 82, shared news of the milestone on Tuesday, weeks before the country’s highly anticipated midterm elections, as reported by Yahoo.

The announcement answered a question created by its timing. The Canadian singer had already lived in the United States since the late 1960s and was well into her seventh decade in the country.

In a statement issued Thursday, according to PEOPLE, Mitchell made her purpose explicit: "I became a citizen so I could vote."

She also stressed that becoming an American did not mean surrendering her original citizenship. "I didn't give up my Canadian citizenship, and I never will," she said. "I'm a proud Canerican like Neil Young."

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Young, her fellow Canadian musician, became a citizen of both the United States and Canada in 2020. Mitchell’s description placed her alongside him as someone retaining ties to both countries.

Mitchell initially announced her new legal status with a photograph. She was pictured standing before a U.S. Department of Homeland Security flag and a U.S. flag while holding a miniature American flag in her hand.

Her caption looked back across the many years that led to the moment. "A journey that began 62 years ago," Mitchell wrote alongside the photograph.

 

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The Canadian singer has famously lived in California since the 1960s. She once lived in Los Angeles’ Laurel Canyon with former flame Graham Nash, who wrote the 1970 song "Our House" about their home.

Mitchell first came to the United States with her then-husband, Chuck Mitchell. The couple lived in Detroit before their marriage ended, and Mitchell continued building her life and career elsewhere in the country.

After the split, she moved to New York City. While living there, she wrote "Chelsea Morning" about her apartment in the Manhattan neighborhood of the same name before eventually moving west.

Her first album, Song to a Seagull, arrived in 1968. The singer has since become an 11-time Grammy winner and now lives in Santa Barbara.

Mitchell has described Los Angeles as her "workplace" and British Columbia as her "heartbeat." Her decision to become an American citizen did not alter the attachment to Canada expressed in her Thursday statement.

The ability to vote had already emerged as a public concern for Mitchell before her citizenship announcement. During a 2024 concert, she criticized President Donald Trump and lamented that she could not participate in an American election.

Billboard reported that the moment followed an insult about Trump shouted by a fan in the crowd. Mitchell responded approvingly before continuing the performance.

She had just performed "Dog Eat Dog" and altered part of the song during the concert. After the lyric "big-wig financiers," Mitchell added, "like Donald Trump."

At the time, she said, "I wish I could vote," and described herself as "one of those lousy immigrants." Her newly announced citizenship directly addresses the limitation she voiced during that appearance.

Nash was among those reacting after Mitchell posted about becoming a citizen. He commented on her post and congratulated her on now being able to vote.

Other commenters brought sharply different reactions to the announcement. Some Canadians expressed disappointment, while others celebrated that Mitchell would have a vote in the approaching midterm elections.

The citizenship milestone therefore came with a clear explanation from Mitchell herself. After 62 years connected to life in the United States, she pursued citizenship to vote while keeping the Canadian citizenship she said she would never relinquish.