The US Embassy in Ottawa released a fact sheet on Wednesday, 21 October, listing eight statements by Canadian politicians about influencing US politics, two weeks before the 3 November midterms.
The embassy cites Mélanie Joly's August remarks on targeting products that affect US states and her September meetings with Democratic officials in Boston and Chicago. Joly denied any interference on 14 October.
Carney said the US started the trade actions and that Canada responded to protect jobs and companies, while announcing a nearly C$9bn ($6.2bn) aid package for US tariffs.
The embassy says 11 Canadian citizens were accused or convicted of illegal voting in US elections between 2012 and 2024 and says Canada ranks second among countries with such prosecutions, citing Department of Justice figures.
On Wednesday, 21 October, the US Embassy in Ottawa published a fact sheet accusing the Canadian government of brushing off concerns about "potential interference in U.S. elections" while its ministers and premiers openly describe plans to influence American politics. The embassy is led by Ambassador Pete Hoekstra, and the document was released about two weeks before the midterm elections on 3 November. It lists eight statements by Canadian politicians, presented without wider context. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Liberal MP Anthony Housefather feature most prominently, and the document also cites Canada's consul general in Boston, Bernadette Jordan.
The first example dates to August, when Ottawa unveiled retaliatory tariffs that matched US tariffs dollar for dollar. The embassy quotes Joly saying Canada was targeting products that affect US states in order to apply political pressure. In September she met Democratic officials in Boston and Chicago. Asked what might happen to tariffs if Democrats won the midterms, she gave an answer the embassy treats as evidence of interference.
“That's exactly why I'm meeting so many governors and potential presidential candidates.”
Joly has rejected the accusation. On 14 October she told reporters that her work in the United States was about attracting investment. Ford's government is cited for urging Ottawa to consider more retaliatory tariffs on imports from "politically significant states to the current administration's base of support". Ontario's advertising campaign used clips of former US President Ronald Reagan criticising tariffs in a 1987 radio address, and that campaign prompted Trump to call off trade talks with Canada in October 2025. Housefather is criticised for summer door-knocking with a Democratic candidate. The embassy also says 11 Canadian citizens were accused or convicted of illegal voting in US general and primary elections between 2012 and 2024, and argues that Canada ranks second among countries with the most prosecutions for fraudulent or illegal voting, citing Department of Justice figures.
Carney was asked about the document on Wednesday while announcing a nearly C$9bn ($6.2bn) aid package in response to US tariffs. Joly and Ford stood with him at the announcement. Carney argued that Washington started the trade conflict and said his government's response was aimed at protecting jobs and companies.
“We've responded to those to protect Canadian jobs, to protect Canadian companies and develop our economy.”
Ford said he has "no interest at all" in interfering in US elections and said he would focus on Ontario and Canada. He added that the outcome is for American voters to decide.
“The people of the United States will make that determination in the midterms.”
Earlier in the week, Carney told Global News that Canada does not interfere in other countries' elections and expects foreign governments, including the US, not to get involved in Canadian votes. He also said security services are checking whether foreign interference occurred before the Alberta referendum on separation, which separatists lost on Monday, 19 October.
Since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, the US has imposed high tariffs on several Canadian products, including steel and aluminium. Trump has repeatedly called Canada the "51st state" and has referred to Canadian premiers as "governors". Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called Alberta a "natural partner" of the United States. At the SpaceBound conference in Gatineau, Joly pledged to strengthen Canada's sovereign space capacity and work more closely with Europe and other spacefaring nations. Hoekstra read this as Canadians turning away from the US and answered that it was a sovereign decision for Canada.
Hoekstra himself faced a similar accusation in 2020, when he was US ambassador to the Netherlands. The far-right party Forum voor Democratie held a fundraising gala at the US embassy with his blessing, which international agreements prohibit. He denied it was an official gala and said it had been a meeting with businesspeople.
The same pattern appears elsewhere. JD Vance openly campaigned for Viktor Orbán in Hungary in 2025, and former US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem campaigned in Poland that year for Karol Nawrocki. Trump gave a clear endorsement for a candidate in Colombia in summer 2026, and Brazil refused entry to two US diplomats in summer 2026 over fears they would spread disinformation in favour of Flavio Bolsonaro.
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Two weeks before the 3 November midterms, the US embassy in Ottawa accused Canadian ministers and premiers of trying to influence American politics. Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected the claims and said Canada is responding to US trade actions.
AI text based on reports by Der Tagesspiegel, PÚBLICO, rmf24.pl and other publishers. Published .