The U.S. Embassy in Canada has published a list of quotes from Canadian political leaders in response to comments by Prime Minister Mark Carney and others denying that remarks by Canadian politicians could amount to interference in U.S. elections.
Carney and other Canadian politicians are denying the suggestion from the U.S. embassy.
The post by the embassy quotes Carney as saying on Oct. 16 that Ottawa’s expectation is that “we don’t get ourselves involved in their elections, they don’t get themselves involved in our elections.”
It also cites Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, who said on Oct. 14, in response to previous comments by U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra about potential election interference, “I would never do that, and we would never accept that also being done to us in Canada.”
Pointing to these quotes, the embassy says, “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 document cites four statements by Joly and two involving Ontario Premier Doug Ford. It also points to contacts with Democratic politicians by Liberal MP Anthony Housefather and Canadian Consul General Bernadette Jordan, as well as a federal anti-tariff billboard campaign.
Several of the statements concern Canada’s efforts to pressure the United States over tariffs, including by targeting Republican-leaning states.
Americans will be voting in midterm elections on Nov. 3.
The embassy says in March 2025, Joly, then foreign affairs minister, said Canada was “doubling down on products that will have an impact politically in Republican states.” The embassy also pointed out that she also said Ottawa was putting pressure on American businesses in those states to influence the Trump administration.
The embassy also cited Joly as saying in August of this year that Canada was strategically targeting products from certain U.S. states with counter-tariffs to exert political pressure. Joly and her cabinet colleagues had said at that time that they are working on applying pressure on the United States to remove its tariffs.
“We’re also targeting products that will target states in the U.S.,” she said. “And so we’re being wise and strategic to put political pressure, and that’s why we think it’s the right thing to do right now.”
The fact sheet also cited Joly’s meetings with Democratic officials in Boston and Chicago in September 2026. Asked at that time what she expected on tariffs if Democrats won the U.S. midterm elections, she replied: “That’s exactly why I’m meeting so many governors and potential presidential candidates.”
The list cited Ford as saying in October 2025 that Ontario would take its anti-tariff message to “every Republican district there is, right across the entire country.”
The Ontario government rolled out a $75 million anti-tariff campaign in the United States featuring excerpts from an address by former President Ronald Reagan against the use of tariffs.
The fact sheet also cited an August 2026 letter in which Ford urged Carney to consider further retaliatory tariffs on imports from “politically significant states to the current administration’s base of support.”
The embassy also cited Housefather’s campaigning in Florida in August 2026 on behalf of Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz ahead of her party’s primary election.
It also pointed to Jordan’s appearance alongside Democratic Reps. Becca Balint and Jim McGovern at an Oct. 13 roundtable in Vermont on U.S.–Canada trade tensions and tariffs.
The fact sheet also lists an example of the federal government launching an anti-tariff billboard campaign in March 2025 aimed at “informing Americans” in Republican-voting states and in Washington, D.C.
Separately, the embassy said that several Canadian citizens have been convicted of engaging in “unlawful interference” in American elections. It listed 11 Canadians it said had been charged or sentenced in 2026 for illegal voting in U.S. elections and primaries held between 2012 and 2024.
The fact sheet contrasted these instances with two other statements by Joly and Carney denying interference in U.S. elections.
During a press conference on Parliament Hill on Oct. 21, reporters asked Carney and Ford about the U.S. Embassy’s allegations. Carney didn’t directly address the accusations but said the United States initiated trade actions against Canada, prompting Canada to retaliate to protect jobs, companies, and the economy.
“All of our actions are in the interests of Canadian workers, Canadian families and the future of this economy,” Carney said.
Ford said he had “no interest at all” in interfering in American politics or elections.
“We’re going to focus on what we can do here in Ontario and in Canada to make sure we protect our economy, protect the people, and protect communities,” he said.
Joly did not respond to the allegations during the press conference. She previously told reporters that she would never meddle in U.S. elections and that she would “never accept that also being done to us in Canada.”
“Fundamentally, what I’ve done in the U.S. is to attract investments,” she said, adding that she meets with both Democrats and Republicans in the United States.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
English (US) · 
Turkish (TR) · 