U.S. Embassy Publishes Quotes From Canadian Leaders on Pressuring U.S. Politics Over Tariffs

The U.S. Embassy in Canada has published a list of Canadian leaders' own words about applying political pressure inside the United States, just as Ottawa moves to support industries hit by the tariff fight.

The embassy's post responds to Canadian denials. It quotes Prime Minister Mark Carney on Oct. 16 saying 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 quotes Industry Minister Mélanie Joly from Oct. 14. She was responding to earlier 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," Joly said.

The embassy's verdict: "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."

What the embassy list cites

The document lists 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, and a federal anti-tariff billboard campaign.

Several entries concern tariffs and Republican-leaning states. 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 says she also said Ottawa was putting pressure on American businesses in those states to influence the Trump administration.

In August of this year, Joly said Canada was strategically targeting products from certain U.S. states with counter-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 embassy also cites Joly's September 2026 meetings with Democratic officials in Boston and Chicago. Asked what she expected on tariffs if Democrats won the U.S. midterms, she replied: "That's exactly why I'm meeting so many governors and potential presidential candidates."

The list quotes Ford 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 tariffs. The fact sheet also cites 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 further cites Housefather's campaigning in Florida in August 2026 on behalf of Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz ahead of her party's primary, and 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. It lists a March 2025 federal anti-tariff billboard campaign aimed at "informing Americans" in Republican-voting states and in Washington, D.C.

Separately, the embassy said 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.

Two positions, same quotes

The embassy treats these remarks as evidence that Ottawa's denials do not match its conduct. Carney and other Canadian politicians reject the suggestion.

"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 she would never meddle in U.S. elections. "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 embassy list is the U.S. government's characterization of public statements. The quotes themselves are on the record. Whether lobbying governors, targeting counter-tariffs at particular states or running a billboard campaign amounts to election interference, or ordinary pressure on a trade partner, is the point in dispute. Americans vote in midterm elections on Nov. 3.

The money question

The tariff pressure Joly describes is the same pressure Ottawa's industry support is meant to absorb. Ford met Carney on Parliament Hill on Oct. 21 before announcing $5 billion in support of Canada's steel industry.

A Financial Post video segment published Oct. 24 asks whether Ottawa's support for the steel industry goes far enough. Blair Dickerson, president and chief executive of the Canadian Steel Producers Association, appears in it. He talks about how steel is a key industry for economic sovereignty and what is being done to protect it. The segment's framing is a question, not a finding.

The same segment notes that results from Alberta's referendum show roughly three quarters of voters chose to remain in Canada. Business leaders, investment analysts and energy industry watchers are reacting to the result.

What comes next

The embassy post puts Carney's Oct. 16 statement and Joly's earlier remarks side by side, and both stay on the record. The next date that matters is Nov. 3, the day of the U.S. midterms. Joly said in September that her meetings with Democratic governors were tied to what a Democratic win would mean for tariffs. Whether any tariff relief follows is the open question for the steel sector that Ottawa's $5 billion is meant to support.