The U.S.-Canada trade war has emerged as one of the main issues in the midterm elections, which are only a couple of weeks away.
Some American officials are warning Canada not to meddle in the election campaigns, but Canadian political leaders say they are not interfering. Rather, they are making the case for a free and "fair" trade deal with Washington.
U.S. ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, listed several grievances including Canadian officials meeting with a Florida democrat and attending a U.S. trade event with Democratic candidates. Hoekstra said about half of the meetings might be considered election interference.
"We’re monitoring it. We’re evaluating it," he said. "And if some of it becomes election interference, then America will respond to it.
[Canada industry minister Melanie Joly] talking about, of course, we’re going to go and target tariffs and retaliatory tariffs in politically sensitive states.
"Keep your nose out of American politics four weeks before an election."
But Joly pushed back, saying there is no election interference on the Canadian government’s part.
"We’d never do that, and we never accept that also being done to us in Canada," she said. "Indeed, I’ve been to the U.S. in the past month, as many of my colleagues. Fundamentally, what I’ve done in the U.S. is to attract investments, and I think I’ll be able to have good news of investments by different American companies to Canada. That’s exactly what I’m doing and that will continue to be my strategy in U.S. and also around the world."
Peter Navarro, a senior trade advisor to President Donald Trump, is also warning Canada to stay out of the elections.
"Memo to Canada: You cannot do that, OK?" he said. "That game is up, and if you interfere in our elections in Maine or Michigan, you will pay even more dearly."
The U.S. embassy in Canada released a list of quotes from Canadian politicians that it suggest plans to influence American politics. At a news conference in Ottawa, Prime Minister Mark Carney responded to the allegations, saying all actions are not aimed at election interference but aimed at protecting and supporting the interests of Canadians.
"The United States initiated these trade actions, a series of trade actions," he said. "We have responded to those to protect Canadian jobs, to protect Canadian companies, and to develop our economy. Yes, we have big structural challenges — some in the steel industry, some in the auto sector. And we’re addressing those together as partners. It’s gonna take some time to have that full response. But all of our actions are in the interests of Canadian workers, Canadian families and the future of this economy."
Carney said he spoke to Trump on Wednesday for quite some time. He said they spoke about trade, the Iran war, and the Middle East — but not about election interference.
Sources in Ottawa suggest there is movement on the trade issue and that public opinion across the U.S. is shifting towards favoring Canada — even outside border states. The feeling is that anything could happen on the trade front before the midterms.
