Canada midterm interference: Ottawa rejects US embassy claims

Key takeaways

• The US embassy in Ottawa published a fact sheet on October 21 accusing Canadian ministers and premiers of trying to influence the November 3 US midterm elections, according to Al Jazeera and The Globe and Mail.
• The fact sheet follows remarks US Ambassador Pete Hoekstra made on October 14. In a podcast interview, he said Washington was "monitoring" Canadian politicians and would "respond" if their actions became election interference.
• The examples cited include Ontario's 2025 anti-tariff ad featuring Ronald Reagan, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly's comments about aiming counter-tariffs at particular US states, and remarks by former prime minister Justin Trudeau.
• Joly, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Prime Minister Mark Carney have all rejected the accusation. Former diplomat Colin Robertson called the claims "noise" and described Ontario's ad as "advocacy".
• US law bars foreign nationals, including foreign governments, from spending money in connection with US elections and bars non-citizens from voting in federal races. Public criticism of US policy is not, in itself, listed as a prohibited act.

US-Canada midterm interference dispute: what the US embassy claims

The Canada midterm interference dispute escalated on October 21, when the US embassy in Ottawa published a fact sheet accusing Canadian ministers and premiers of trying to influence the November 3 US elections, according to Al Jazeera. Canada's leaders reject the charge.

The Globe and Mail reported that the document is largely a list of quotes from Canadian politicians, presented without their original context. Joly is quoted five times. The paper said most of her quoted remarks are about Canada's response to US tariffs, including pressuring American businesses and targeting US states with counter-tariffs. Ford is also quoted. On trade, see the latest Canada tariff exemptions.

Al Jazeera reported that the fact sheet also points to:

• Joly's meetings with Democratic officials in Boston and Chicago in September. Asked what might happen to tariffs if Democrats won, she replied, "That's exactly why I'm meeting so many governors and potential presidential candidates."
• Liberal MP Anthony Housefather's statement that he campaigned in Florida for Democratic Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz before her August primary.
• A list of 11 people charged or sentenced for voting illegally in US elections between 2012 and 2024. Al Jazeera noted that the fact sheet gives no evidence linking them to any Canadian government effort.

The fact sheet ends by saying that "All Canadians should refrain from attempting to participate in or influence U.S. elections in any way," followed by the line "Americans decide America's elections," according to Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera also said the embassy did not explain how the listed actions amount to interference.

What Hoekstra said a week earlier

The embassy's statement builds on comments Hoekstra made in an interview on the podcast The Really Big Show, posted around October 14. According to The Canadian Press, via Global News, he said American officials were "closely watching" Canadian politicians and told them to keep their "nose out" of US politics before the vote. Al Jazeera quoted him as saying: "if some of it becomes election interference then America will respond to it."

He cited three examples, according to The Canadian Press:

• Ontario's Reagan ad. In 2025, Ontario aired an advertisement during the World Series that used clips of Ronald Reagan criticising tariffs. President Donald Trump ended trade talks with Canada in October 2025 after the ad aired.
• Joly's tariff comments. Hoekstra said Joly had talked about aiming retaliatory tariffs at "politically sensitive states."
• Trudeau's speech. Speaking at Brown University on September 22, Trudeau said US tariff fights were raising prices for American consumers without benefiting the United States.

Hoekstra is not the only US official to raise the issue. The Canadian Press reported that Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro warned Ottawa against meddling in the midterms at an event in Washington last month. Navarro said interference in races in Maine or Michigan would be punished. Hoekstra declined an interview request from The Canadian Press.

The tariff question at the centre of the dispute

The two countries have been in a trade war since 2025, and Canada has answered US tariffs with its own import taxes. In September, The New Republic reported that Canada's latest counter-tariffs cover vehicles, fish and dairy. The magazine said they would fall hardest on states with closely watched races, including Maine, Michigan and Kansas. It quoted Joly as saying, "We are picking products that will target states in the U.S."

That quote is the core of the US case. The embassy and Hoekstra treat choosing tariffs for their political effect in US states as an attempt to sway the election. Canadian officials describe the same measures as lawful retaliation meant to protect Canadian jobs.

Ottawa's response

Mélanie Joly. After Hoekstra's interview, Joly said Canada would never engage in election interference and would "never accept that also being done to us in Canada," The Canadian Press reported. She said she has met both Democrats and Republicans and that her US work is about attracting investment. The Canadian Press said she was not available to comment on the embassy's list, according to The Globe and Mail.

Doug Ford. The Ontario premier said he has "no interest at all" in interfering in American elections and that Americans will decide the midterms, according to The Globe and Mail.

Mark Carney. At a news conference on Parliament Hill on Wednesday, the prime minister said the United States had started the trade actions. "All of our actions are in the interests of Canadian workers, Canadian families and the future of this economy," he said, while announcing a C$9 billion aid package for sectors hit by US tariffs, the Globe reported. Al Jazeera separately reported that Carney had told Global News that Canada expects foreign governments, including the United States, to stay out of Canadian elections.

What former diplomats say

Colin Robertson, a former Canadian diplomat and a fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, dismissed the allegations as "noise" in an interview with CTV's Your Morning, CTV News reported. On the Ontario ad, he said: "Did that constitute any kind of interference? No, I think that's advocacy."

Robertson said Canada's counter-tariffs are a form of retaliation that "international trade law recognizes." He added that when Canadian politicians encourage US businesses to speak out against tariffs, "That's Americans talking to Americans." He also said he would not be surprised if Trump blamed Canada should Republicans lose the midterms.

Timeline of the dispute

What US election-interference law actually covers

US federal law on foreign involvement in elections is narrower than the term "interference" suggests in everyday use. Under 52 U.S.C. § 30121, as explained by the Federal Election Commission, foreign nationals may not make contributions, donations, expenditures or disbursements in connection with any federal, state or local election. They also may not direct or take part in the election-related decisions of US campaigns, parties or companies. The FEC notes that the definition of foreign national includes a "foreign government or political party."

A separate statute, 18 U.S.C. § 611, makes it a crime for a non-citizen to vote in a federal election. The penalty is a fine, up to one year in prison, or both. That law is the basis for the cases of individual voters listed in the embassy's fact sheet.

Neither provision, as described in these official sources, mentions trade measures, public speeches or ministers meeting US politicians. Whether particular Canadian spending, such as paid advertising in US markets, could fall under the spending ban would depend on the facts. No US agency has announced an investigation or a legal finding against any Canadian official. The embassy has not said what form any US "response" would take.

What it means

The dispute is a political fight, not yet a legal case. Washington is using the language of election interference, which carries weight after years of debate about foreign meddling, to describe trade retaliation and lobbying that Ottawa says is legitimate. Canada's leaders are trying to reject the label without escalating, stressing jobs and investment rather than US party politics.

The timing matters. Republicans hold both chambers of Congress, and polls cited by The Canadian Press suggest Democrats could win both. Several of the races highlighted by Canada's tariff choices, such as Maine and Michigan, are among those watched most closely. Robertson's warning that Canada could be blamed for a Republican loss points to a risk for Ottawa after November 3, whatever the result.

The fight also feeds into wider frictions covered on Bullquill. These include a US importer's legal challenge to the 50% tariffs on Canadian goods and Alberta's vote to stay in Canada, a vote held amid unconfirmed reports, cited by Al Jazeera, that separatist leaders had sought support from Trump administration officials. For the US side of the campaign, see our coverage of the No Kings early-voting protests before the midterms.

Still unknown: whether the embassy will publish evidence of coordination by the Canadian government, what a US "response" would involve, and whether Ottawa will change its tariff strategy before the vote. CTV News has reported that Carney has no plans to apply further trade pressure as the midterms approach.

Sources

• Al Jazeera: US accuses Canada of election interference ahead of midterms (October 21, 2026)
• The Globe and Mail: U.S. embassy accuses Canadian politicians of election meddling
• The Canadian Press via Global News: Hoekstra says U.S. watching Canada for signs of interference (October 15, 2026)
• CTV News: Hoekstra sends stern warning to Canada ahead of U.S. midterms (October 14, 2026)
• CTV News / CP24: Canada has not interfered in the U.S. midterm elections, former diplomat says (October 15, 2026)
• The Globe and Mail: Canada would never interfere in U.S. elections, Joly says
• The New Republic: Canada's counter-tariffs and the midterms (September 2026)
• Federal Election Commission: Foreign nationals (52 U.S.C. § 30121, 11 CFR 110.20)
• Cornell Legal Information Institute: 18 U.S.C. § 611, Voting by aliens