US embassy accuses Canada of election meddling ahead of midterms
Prime Minister Mark Carney dismissed the claim, noting that it was the that US initiated trade actions against Canada.
US Embassy accuses Canada of election meddling before midterms
The US Embassy in Ottawa has accused Canadian officials of interfering in the election ahead of the November midterms.
In a statement, the embassy said Canadian leaders have dismissed worries about "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 rejected the allegations. Ties between the North American neighbours have grown more strained during the second Trump administration.
The midterms will decide which political party controls both chambers of the US Congress, a result that could have a major effect on the remainder of Donald Trump's presidency.
A fact sheet released by the US Embassy on Wednesday claims 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".
It points to remarks and actions such as meetings with US Democrats and calls for retaliatory tariffs against the US.
For instance, it says that when Industry Minister Mélanie Joly was asked what she expected about tariffs if Democrats won the midterm elections, she replied, "That's exactly why I'm meeting so many governors and potential presidential candidates."
Ontario Premier Doug Ford urged Canada's federal government, it says, to consider extra retaliatory tariffs on imports from "politically significant states to the current administration's base of support".
When asked on Wednesday about the accusations, Carney said it was the US that first launched trade measures against Canada.
"We've responded to those to protect Canadian jobs, to protect Canadian companies and develop our economy," Carney said.
He said his government's response has been "in the interests of Canadian workers, Canadian families and the future of this economy".
Carney, who was announcing a nearly C$9bn ($6.2bn) aid package in response to US tariffs, was joined by both Joly and Ford.
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 concentrate on Ontario and Canada.
"The people of the United States will make that determination in the midterms," he said.
Last week, Minister Joly denied Canadian interference and said Canadians "never accept that also being done to us in Canada", according to CBC.
She said her recent trips to the US were "to attract investments" from American companies, and that she intends to keep doing so.
Washington and Ottawa have spent months disputing tariffs and trade, which once moved freely across their borders, as well as the impact of Canada's countermeasures.
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 comments about the separation referendum in the province of Alberta this week.
A petition demanding Hoekstra's removal from his post for "undermining the Canada-U.S. diplomatic relations" has gathered more than 280,000 signatures.