US Embassy Accuses Canada of Election Meddling Ahead of the Midterms, Carney Hits Back

The US Embassy in Ottawa has accused Canadian officials of election meddling ahead of the November midterms. The embassy said Canadian leaders have brushed off concerns over 'potential interference', and that ministers and premiers 'openly describe plans to influence American politics in official documents and public appearances'. Canadian leaders, including Prime Minister Mark Carney, have dismissed the claims.

The midterms will determine which political party controls both branches of the US Congress, which could have a significant impact on the rest of Donald Trump's presidency. This accusation has created fresh tension between the two neighbours just before that vote. Relations between the North American neighbours have already hardened during the second Trump administration.

The fact sheet released by the US Embassy on Wednesday alleges the Canadian government 'brushes off concerns about potential interference in US elections, even as its ministers and premiers openly describe plans to influence American politics in official documents and public appearances'. It cites comments and actions such as meetings with US Democrats and calls for retaliatory tariffs against the US.

For example, it says that when Industry Minister Melanie Joly was asked what she expected regarding tariffs if Democrats were to win the midterm elections, she responded, 'That's exactly why I'm meeting so many governors and potential presidential candidates.' Ontario Premier Doug Ford pushed Canada's federal government, it states, to consider additional retaliatory tariffs on imports from politically significant states to the current administration's base of support.

Asked on Wednesday about the allegations, Carney noted that it was the US that first initiated trade actions against Canada. 'We've responded to those to protect Canadian jobs, to protect Canadian companies and develop our economy,' Carney said. His government's response has been 'in the interests of Canadian workers, Canadian families and the future of this economy', he said.

Carney was announcing a nearly C$9 billion ($6.2 billion) aid package in response to US tariffs when he made the comments. He was accompanied by both Joly and Ford, the very two leaders whose remarks formed the basis of the embassy's allegations.

Ford said he has 'no interest at all' in interfering in US elections. 'I'll tell you what the American people want. They want certainty, they want stability,' Ford said, adding that he will focus on Ontario and Canada. 'The people of the United States will make that determination in the midterms,' he added.

Last week, Minister Joly denied Canadian interference and said Canadians 'never accept that also being done to us in Canada'. She said her recent visits to the US were 'to attract investments' from American companies, which she plans to continue.

Washington and Ottawa have argued for months over tariffs and trade, which once flowed freely across their borders, and over the effects of Canada's countermeasures. This interference allegation is a new chapter in that tension.

Earlier this month, US Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra warned that US officials are 'closely watching' Canada's politicians for signs of election interference. Trump administration officials have also been accused of making inappropriate remarks about the separation referendum in the province of Alberta this week.

A petition calling for Hoekstra's removal from his post for 'undermining Canada-US diplomatic relations' has received more than 280,000 signatures. The embassy's fact sheet may therefore draw further reactions in diplomatic circles.

As the midterms approach, the tariff war and the exchange of interference claims and counterclaims between the two neighbours may intensify. The fight over who controls Congress is now casting a shadow over the two countries' trade relationship, and when it will be resolved remains uncertain.