Carney Rejects U.S. Claims That Canada Is Interfering in American Midterm Elections

Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday rejected claims by the U.S. ambassador to Canada that Canadian officials are interfering in the U.S. midterm elections, saying the allegations have “no merit.”

Speaking to reporters in Istanbul, Carney said he was disappointed in U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra and that it is not an envoy’s role to make such suggestions, according to BNN Bloomberg.

What the embassy said
The U.S. Embassy issued a fact sheet on Wednesday listing nine instances of “potential” interference, Yahoo News Canada reported. The items included Canadian officials meeting Democrats, Liberal MP Anthony Housefather campaigning for a Democratic candidate in Florida, and several references to Industry Minister Mélanie Joly’s remarks on counter tariffs in March 2025, when she was foreign affairs minister. It also cited an Ontario government advertisement and comments by Premier Doug Ford.

Hoekstra said on a podcast earlier this month that he was monitoring for interference after a warning from White House adviser Peter Navarro, Yahoo News Canada reported. Neither report describes the evidence behind the embassy’s list.

Canada’s response
Carney said Canada’s diplomatic activity in the United States is routine and that Canada takes care to avoid any appearance of interfering in democratic processes, according to the reports. He said he does not expect the United States to blame Canada for a poor midterm result and respond with more tariffs, but cannot predict what Washington will do.

Bloomberg reported, and CBC confirmed, that Global Affairs Canada told embassy and consulate staff in the United States to avoid appearing with midterm candidates. Carney said that guidance was issued well before the embassy’s fact sheet, BNN Bloomberg reported.

Joly said Thursday she had met Republicans and Democrats on recent trips to the United States and called that normal diplomacy, Yahoo News Canada reported. Responses from Ford and Housefather were not included in the reports NordoVista could open.

The midterm elections are on Nov. 3.