Canada has told its diplomats in the United States not to meet with, attend events with, or be photographed alongside candidates in the November 3 U.S. midterm elections. A memo from Glen Linder, Global Affairs Canada's assistant deputy minister for the Americas, obtained by The Canadian Press, cites "heightened sensitivity" and tells staff to take "a very risk-averse approach" to staying non-partisan. The memo was sent on Tuesday, October 20, a day before the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa published a fact sheet titled "Monitoring Canadian Activities in U.S. Politics" listing what it called instances of "potential" Canadian interference in the vote. Prime Minister Mark Carney said there is "no merit to these claims," and the U.S. ambassador, Pete Hoekstra, later said the embassy had not concluded that interference had occurred.
What the memo says
Under the memo, Canadian diplomats should not meet with or attend events with midterm candidates, a group that takes in every House candidate and those running for a third of the Senate. If they find themselves "in the same physical space" as a candidate or elected official, they should avoid being photographed and keep their names and positions out of public materials. Meetings with elected officials who are not on the ballot can go ahead if necessary, but must be discussed in advance with senior officials. The memo says the rules resemble those Canadian public servants follow during Canadian election campaigns. Carney said such notices were issued "well in advance" of the U.S. Embassy's fact sheet; CBC News described two separate notices sent over the past month.
The U.S. accusation
The embassy's fact sheet listed nine instances that it said could amount to interference, including Canadian officials meeting Democratic members of Congress, Liberal MP Anthony Housefather canvassing for a Florida Democrat during a primary earlier this year, the Ontario government's anti-tariff television ad quoting Ronald Reagan that ran in the U.S. last year, and remarks by Ontario Premier Doug Ford. Four of the nine cite Industry Minister Mélanie Joly's comments, from March 2025 when she was foreign minister, about aiming Canada's retaliatory tariffs at politically sensitive U.S. states; The Canadian Press noted that Joly made the comments while addressing Canada's response to U.S.-imposed tariffs. The fact sheet argued that Canada's government is dismissing concerns about "potential interference in U.S. elections," and the embassy's post ended: "Americans decide America's elections." Hoekstra said U.S. officials were "closely watching" Canadian politicians and warned them to keep their "nose out" of American politics, saying the United States would respond to any actions that amount to interference.
Canadian officials rejected the charge. "There is no merit to these claims, so I'll call it out that way," Carney told reporters in Istanbul on October 23. "I'm disappointed that their envoy sees that as his role, to make these suggestions." He called meetings with Democratic lawmakers normal diplomacy and said, "As a country, Canada is very, very careful to not be seen to interfere in the democratic process." Ford said he has "no interest at all" in interfering in American elections. Joly said she meets Democrats and Republicans alike on U.S. trips: "That is diplomacy, that's what we do."
A partial walk-back
In a podcast interview taped October 21 and released October 23, Hoekstra said his earlier remarks had been taken out of context and that the embassy had not reached a finding of interference. "As an embassy, we hadn't reached that conclusion," he said, adding that "someone could assume that or reach that conclusion" from activities such as Joly's meetings with Democratic officials in Boston and Chicago. He did not rule interference out: "We continue to watch." The fact sheet has not been withdrawn.
The dispute plays out against a trade war. Carney's government has announced a $9 billion aid package in response to U.S. tariffs, and at a rally he joked that U.S. officials might mistake Canada's efforts to depend less on the American economy for election interference: "They're a little touchy down there." At least one Republican candidate has campaigned against the tariffs: Mike Rogers, the Republican Senate candidate in Michigan, released an ad this month saying, "Here in Michigan we know that Canada is not our enemy. We need to end this tariff war now." Canada's chief trade negotiator, Janice Charette, said President Trump will still be driving trade policy after the midterms and that Canada "will remain absolutely focused on what Canada's objectives are here."
This article reflects reporting through the evening of Sunday, October 25, 2026. Sources: The Canadian Press via Global News; CBC News via Yahoo News Canada, October 23; The Canadian Press via Yahoo News; The Globe and Mail.
