Ottawa to its diplomats: steer clear of U.S. midterm candidates

The directive

Canada has instructed its diplomats in the United States to keep their distance from American midterm candidates, Politico reported Thursday night. The Global Affairs Canada directive tells diplomats to avoid meeting with or attending events with midterm election candidates, to avoid appearing alongside them in photos or promotional materials, and to exercise caution on social media, according to CBC News, which covered the directive on The National and Power & Politics on Thursday evening. The move reflects Ottawa's effort to avoid any appearance of meddling in a U.S. election cycle that is already sharply divided.

Why now

The directive lands a day after the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa released a fact sheet titled "Monitoring Canadian Activities in U.S. Politics," accusing Canadian officials of seeking to influence the November 3 midterms and singling out Industry Minister Mélanie Joly and Ontario Premier Doug Ford. Earlier, U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra said on a podcast that American officials were "closely watching" Canadian politicians for signs of interference, and White House trade adviser Peter Navarro warned Canada not to "interfere" in midterm races in states like Maine and Michigan. Ottawa has denied every charge: Joly said Canada would never interfere and would "never accept" it being done to Canada, Ford said he has "no interest at all," and Prime Minister Mark Carney framed the dispute as trade-policy advocacy, not electioneering.

The Canadian angle

The directive puts Canadian diplomats — who have spent years lobbying U.S. officials against tariffs under Ottawa's Team Canada approach — in a holding pattern with less than two weeks to the vote. Washington is now framing that same advocacy as potential interference, and Ottawa's response is to tighten conduct rather than escalate the rhetoric. The midterms on November 3 will decide control of Congress and how much of the rest of Donald Trump's second term is constrained — and whether "Blame Canada" becomes a post-election talking point.