Canada tells diplomats to steer clear of US midterm candidates

Por Mickey Djuric, Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Megan Messerly — POLITICO – TOP Stories

OTTAWA — The Canadian government is urging its diplomats to avoid engaging with candidates in the U.S. midterm elections, as the Trump administration accuses the country of meddling in campaigns across the border.

Global Affairs Canada, which manages the government’s diplomatic relations, quietly issued the guidance Tuesday, a day before the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa called out several Canadian leaders for political interference — a claim Canadian officials have denied.

The directive, which instructs officials to avoid being photographed with U.S. lawmakers, is in effect until Nov. 3, the day Americans will vote on races that will determine control of Congress.

“Government officials are always instructed to limit public events and stakeholder engagement during election periods in their host country,” a Global Affairs Canada spokesperson said in a statement.

The move drew attention to intensifying diplomatic tensions between the U.S. and Canada amid a trade war launched by President Donald Trump.

Peter Navarro, a senior trade counselor to Trump, said in an interview Thursday that Canadians need to “get the hell out” of U.S. politics, reiterating comments he made in Washington last month when he also said they should stop lobbying in the U.S.

Navarro said Thursday he hadn’t spoken with U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra about the issue. He supports the distribution of the embassy’s “fact sheet” outlining the allegations, though he said he wasn’t involved in drafting it.

“They’re scurrying to get out of the way,” Navarro said. “I’m delighted that this observation raised the level of awareness about it.”

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney defended Canada’s trade strategy as a necessary response to U.S. measures. Ottawa’s latest counter-tariffs, which took effect Sept. 8, target more than 700 products, putting its hardest squeeze on American steel and aluminum.

“The United States initiated these trade actions — a series of trade actions. We have responded to those to protect Canadian jobs … protect Canadian companies and to develop our economy,” he said.

Premier Doug Ford said Ontario is likewise preoccupied with the economy.

“I have no interest at all in interfering in American elections,” he said.

The guidance was issued a day before the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa circulated a “fact sheet” itemizing allegations of foreign meddling by Canadian politicians.

The directive is only in effect until Nov. 3 — the date of midterm elections, when Republicans could face decisive defeat in key races and lose control of both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.

Bloomberg was the first to report the development.

The policy does not extend to U.S. officials who are not competing in the midterms, POLITICO confirmed, though Canadian officials have been instructed not to be photographed with any U.S. lawmakers.

Navarro voiced support for the Canadian directive, saying he was “maybe the first” person to point out the issue ahead of the U.S. midterms.

“I caught ’em red handed, okay? They’re like cockroaches when you turn on the light. We busted ’em,” he said.

Navarro, who clarified he wasn’t speaking on behalf of Trump or the State Department, accused Canadian officials of “speed dialing” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), “funneling money” to Abdul El-Sayed, the Democrats’ Senate candidate in Michigan, and “trying to screw” Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).

“God help them if we lose Michigan Senate and Maine Senate because of anything they did. That’s election interference. That’s not forgiven. It’s not forgotten,” he said.

The U.S. Embassy “fact sheet” accused prominent Canadian politicians of interfering in American politics.

The unsigned document singled out Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, Ford, Liberal MP Anthony Housefather and Bernadette Jordan, a former Liberal Cabinet minister now serving as Canada’s consul general in Boston.

“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,” read the document.

Carney and Ford rejected the allegations when asked about the charges during a Wednesday press conference.

The document took issue with Joly, who has acknowledged the use of politically targeted retaliatory tariffs. “We’re being wise and strategic,” she said on Aug. 25 of the political pressure. “We think it’s the right thing to do right now.”

Housefather drew the embassy’s ire for campaigning for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Jordan was pictured at an Oct. 13 roundtable with exclusively Democratic lawmakers.

Carney defended Canada’s actions as a necessary response to U.S. measures. “The United States initiated these trade actions — a series of trade actions. We have responded to those to protect Canadian jobs … protect Canadian companies and to develop our economy.”

The prime minister told reporters he and Trump spoke Wednesday morning about a wide range of things, including Iran, Ukraine and other issues related to the Middle East. “We’re ready to sit down and negotiate when the U.S. is, but a deal that’s in the interest of Canadians,” Carney said.

Fonte: POLITICO – TOP Stories