U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra in Ottawa last year. Mr. Hoekstra appeared on a Canadian podcast this week and said the U.S. is monitoring Canadian activities ahead of the midterm elections.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly is rejecting an accusation by U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra that Canada might be interfering in the coming U.S. midterm elections.
In a recent interview on a Canadian podcast, Mr. Hoekstra referenced the actions of several Canadian politicians, including Ms. Joly, and said the U.S. is “closely watching Canadian activities” right now.
“It appears that some of this – from our perspective, in the way we view our elections – could be inferred to be election interference,” the U.S. ambassador told The Really Big Show podcast in an episode that was published this week.
“You have Minister Joly talking about, ‘Of course we are going to target retaliatory tariffs in politically sensitive states,’ ” he said.
As another example, Mr. Hoekstra mentioned an Ontario government TV ad that ran in the United States last year that criticized U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods.
“We appreciate foreign-policy leaders coming into the United States and those types of things, but you know, keep your nose out of American politics,” Mr. Hoekstra said.
“We’re monitoring it, we’re evaluating it, and if some of it becomes election interference, you know, then America will respond to it.”
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The U.S. embassy in Canada posted a clip from the interview on its X account Wednesday saying their envoy was speaking “about political interference in U.S. elections.”
Ms. Joly said Canada is not interfering in U.S. politics and said it’s “absolutely not” fair of Mr. Hoekstra to suggest that.
We “would never do that,” she told reporters in Ottawa, and said Canada would “never accept that also being done to us in Canada.”
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada would never interfere in U.S. elections. Her comments came after U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra said Canadians should keep their noses out of American politics during the congressional midterms.
The Canadian Press
She summarized her recent trips to the United States, saying she has met with business people and political leaders from both Democrats and Republicans to attract new investment to Canada.
“I’ve been to Boston, engaging with the governor there. I’ve been also to Illinois and also engaging with the governor, JB Pritzker, there,” the minister said. “I’ve been also to NASA in Florida,” she said.
“Fundamentally, what I’ve done in the U.S. is to attract investments,” Ms. Joly said, adding that she hopes to soon announce “good news of investments by different American companies” in Canada.
She said her job is to persuade foreign investors to put their capital in Canada.
“That’s exactly what I’m doing, and that will continue to be my strategy in the U.S. and also around the world.”
Ms. Joly spoke to reporters after a fireside chat at The Globe and Mail’s defence summit in Ottawa.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump again belittled Canada Wednesday, saying that the country will “end up being the 51st state.”
“Canada treats us very badly. They always have. Not any more. It’s a whole different ball game now that Trump is in town,” he said during a campaign rally in Bullhead City, Ariz.
Mr. Hoekstra’s talk of Canadian political interference follows similar accusations last month by Trump adviser Peter Navarro, who told Canadian lobbyists to “get the hell out” of the U.S. and warned Canada against interfering in U.S. midterm elections.
Prime Minister Mark Carney was later asked about Mr. Navarro’s comments and laughed at a reporter’s question, saying he had “no response” to the adviser’s caution.
The comments from two U.S. figures connected to the Trump administration come as the Republicans face difficult midterm election races in which the cost of living and U.S. tariffs on foreign goods have been prominent political issues.
Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Wednesday that Canada’s relationship with the U.S. has “changed permanently.”
He also said Canada needs to act as though tariffs are here to stay.
“Next month will mark two years since President Trump was re-elected. It has been two years of crisis, chaos from the White House. Ripped up trade deals, tariffs, threats of annexation and economic force,” said Mr. Ford, speaking to a crowd of about 1,200 people at an Empire Club of Canada luncheon in downtown Toronto.
“We can no longer depend on this being the most durable, prosperous and secure economic partnership the world has ever known. … We need to plan as if tariffs are here for good. We need to ensure that Canada’s future is in Canadian hands, now and always.”
The Ontario Premier, speaking during a question-and-answer session with former Newfoundland and Labrador premier Andrew Furey, also predicted that Mr. Trump could lose control of Congress, which includes the House of Representatives and the Senate, in November’s midterms.
“We need to continue building relationships because President Trump is not going to last forever,” Mr. Ford said.
“If he loses the Senate and the House, the Republicans are just going to pull the carpet out from underneath him.”
Still, he added “you never know” what Mr. Trump will do, adding that he has to choose his words carefully or Mr. Trump “will change another lake on me if I say anything else,” a reference to the U.S. President’s decision to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America amid the trade dispute.
Mr. Ford’s office did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday about Mr. Hoekstra’s remarks.