US accuses Canada of election interference ahead of midterms

Washington cites Canadian tariffs, political meetings and anti-Trump ads as evidence of attempted election interference.

US President Donald Trump speaks with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at a meeting in Evian-les-Bains, France, on June 16 [File: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters]

The United States has accused Canadian politicians of trying to influence its midterm elections, pointing to Canada’s efforts to push back against President Donald Trump’s tariff campaign.

In a fact sheet released on Wednesday, the US embassy accused Canada of being dismissive of its allegations of election interference.

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“The Canadian government brushes off concerns about potential interference in U.S. elections, even as its ministers and premiers openly describe plans to influence American politics in official documents and public appearances,” the fact sheet reads.

The two countries have been locked in a trade war since the start of Trump’s second term in 2025, with Canada responding to US tariffs with import taxes of its own.

But the US embassy identified public statements about the tariffs as being attempts to sway the November 3 midterm election.

Among the politicians singled out in the fact sheet was Canadian Industry Minister Melanie Joly. The fact sheet pointed to comments Joly made in August about responding to Trump’s tariffs.

“We’re also targeting products that will target states in the US. And so we’re being wise and strategic to put political pressure,” Joly said at the time.

The embassy also took issue with Joly’s meetings with Democratic officials in Boston and Chicago in September. When asked by a reporter what she thought might happen with regard to tariffs if Democrats won the midterms, she said, “That’s exactly why I’m meeting so many governors and potential presidential candidates.”

Joly has rejected the suggestion that her actions could amount to interference, saying Canada would never meddle in US elections. She said her meetings with US politicians, both Democratic and Republican, were about building Canada’s economy.

“Fundamentally, what I’ve done in the US is to attract investments,” she told reporters on October 14.

The embassy also pointed to Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s calls for retaliatory measures on US products, as well as his government’s advertising campaign against Trump’s tariffs, launched last year.

The campaign, which featured clips of former US President Ronald Reagan criticising tariffs in a 1987 radio address, prompted Trump to call off trade talks with Canada in October 2025.

While the embassy laid out several examples of Canadian officials trying to influence US trade policy, it didn’t explain how those efforts amounted to interference.

Other instances of alleged election interference included Liberal MP Anthony Housefather saying he had campaigned in Florida on behalf of Democratic Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, ahead of her primary election in August.

The fact sheet also accused individual Canadians of illegally participating in US elections, naming 11 people who had been charged or sentenced for voting between 2012 and 2024.

The sheet did not, however, present any evidence linking those citizens to a Canadian government effort to involve itself in US elections.

“All Canadians should refrain from attempting to participate in or influence U.S. elections in any way,” the US embassy’s statement said. “Americans decide America’s elections.”

The fact sheet comes a week after US Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra said Washington was closely watching Canada for signs of interference ahead of the midterms.

“We’re monitoring it, we’re evaluating it and if some of it becomes election interference then America will respond to it,” Hoekstra said in a podcast interview on The Really Big Show, according to The Canadian Press.

The US and Canada have long been allies, but relations have frayed since Trump returned to office.

Not only has the Republican leader triggered a trade war with Canada, but he has also repeatedly threatened to make Canada a 51st state.

There have also been reports that separatist leaders from Alberta had sought support from Trump administration officials ahead of a failed referendum on the province’s independence this week.

Ahead of Monday’s provincial vote, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed concerns about potential US interference in the referendum, saying Canada expected foreign governments to stay out of its elections.

“Our expectation is, to be absolutely clear, on foreign governments, United States included, is we don’t get ourselves involved in their elections, they don’t get themselves involved in our elections,” he told Global News.

Al Jazeera has reached out to the Prime Minister’s Office and Global Affairs Canada for comment, as well as the office of Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Industry Minister Joly.

华盛顿方面将加拿大征收关税、举行政治集会和投放反特朗普广告作为试图干预选举的证据。

6月16日，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在法国埃维昂莱班与加拿大总理马克·卡尼举行会晤。[图片：Evelyn Hockstein/路透社]

美国指责加拿大政客试图影响其中期选举，并指出加拿大曾努力反击唐纳德·特朗普总统的关税政策。

美国大使馆周三发布的一份情况说明书指责加拿大对其干预选举的指控不屑一顾。

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情况说明书写道：“加拿大政府对可能干预美国大选的担忧不以为然，尽管其部长和省长在官方文件和公开场合公开描述了影响美国政治的计划。”

自特朗普2025年第二个任期开始以来，两国一直处于贸易战之中，加拿大以进口税回应美国的关税。

但美国大使馆认为，有关关税的公开声明意在影响11月3日的中期选举。

这份情况说明书特别点名批评了多位政界人士，其中包括加拿大工业部长梅兰妮·乔利。说明书指出，乔利曾在8月份就如何应对特朗普的关税政策发表过评论。

“我们还瞄准了那些将针对美国各州的产品。因此，我们正在采取明智而有策略的方式施加政治压力，”乔利当时说道。

大使馆还对乔利9月份在波士顿和芝加哥会见民主党官员一事提出异议。当记者问她，如果民主党赢得中期选举，她认为关税方面会发生什么变化时，她说：“正因如此，我才要会见这么多州长和潜在的总统候选人。”

乔利否认了她的行为构成干涉美国大选的说法，并表示加拿大绝不会干预美国大选。她说，她与美国民主党和共和党政界人士的会面都是为了发展加拿大经济。

“从根本上讲，我在美国所做的一切都是为了吸引投资，”她在10月14日告诉记者。

大使馆还指出，安大略省省长道格·福特呼吁对美国产品采取报复措施，以及他的政府去年发起的反对特朗普关税的广告宣传活动。

该宣传活动播放了美国前总统罗纳德·里根在 1987 年的广播讲话中批评关税的片段，促使特朗普在 2025 年 10 月取消了与加拿大的贸易谈判。

虽然大使馆列举了几个加拿大官员试图影响美国贸易政策的例子，但并没有解释这些努力如何构成干涉。

其他涉嫌干预选举的案例包括自由党议员安东尼·豪斯法瑟 (Anthony Housefather) 声称，在民主党众议员黛比·沃瑟曼·舒尔茨 (Debbie Wasserman Schultz) 8 月参加初选之前，他曾在佛罗里达州为她助选。

该情况说明书还指控个别加拿大人非法参与美国选举，并列出了 11 名在 2012 年至 2024 年间因投票而被起诉或判刑的人。

然而，该表格并未提供任何证据表明这些公民与加拿大政府干预美国选举的行动有关。

美国大使馆发表声明称：“所有加拿大人都应避免以任何方式参与或影响美国大选。美国的选举由美国人决定。”

这份情况说明书发布一周前，美国驻加拿大大使皮特·霍克斯特拉表示，华盛顿正在密切关注加拿大，以防其在中期选举前进行干预。

据加拿大通讯社报道，霍克斯特拉在“The Really Big Show”播客节目的采访中表示：“我们正在密切关注此事，我们正在评估此事，如果其中一些行为演变成选举干预，那么美国将会做出回应。”

美国和加拿大长期以来一直是盟友，但自特朗普再次上任以来，两国关系日益紧张。

这位共和党领袖不仅挑起了与加拿大的贸易战，而且还一再威胁要让加拿大成为美国的第51个州。

另有报道称，阿尔伯塔省的分离主义领导人在本周该省独立公投失败前，曾寻求特朗普政府官员的支持。

在周一的省级投票前，加拿大总理马克·卡尼回应了人们对美国可能干预公投的担忧，称加拿大希望外国政府不要干预其选举。

“我们明确表示，我们对外国政府（包括美国政府）的期望是，我们不干预他们的选举，他们也不干预我们的选举，”他告诉环球新闻。

半岛电视台已联系总理办公室和加拿大全球事务部征求意见，并联系了安大略省省长道格·福特和工业部长乔利的办公室。