US Ambassador Hints Trump Could Blame Canada If Midterms Go Badly for Republicans

The US ambassador to Canada has reportedly suggested that Canada could be blamed if Republicans fare poorly in the midterm elections next week, adding to the controversy around a diplomat accused of worsening a bitter dispute between the two countries.

CTV News reported on Wednesday that Pete Hoekstra told business leaders at a closed-door meeting that if several swing races, including those in Maine and Michigan, go to the Democrats, relations could become harder for Canada because Donald Trump might try to pin the losses on it. Prime Minister Mark Carney, asked about the claim by reporters, called it "an interesting way of framing it."

Canada and the US have been locked in a tariff war for months. Ottawa has retaliated against what it describes as illegal US tariffs, targeting goods from states that depend heavily on trade with Canada. Carney said Canada "will pursue" a trade deal if one becomes possible, but that its negotiators are "not in that position right now."

Hoekstra has long been a polarizing figure in Canada. Speaking to a Michigan radio station last year, he called Trump's talk of making Canada the 51st US state a "sign of affection" and wondered why Canadians were offended by what he called a "generous offer." He had earlier described Canada's 2025 federal election as "anti-American." This year, a House of Commons petition signed by more than 225,000 Canadians demanded his expulsion, arguing his statements breached diplomatic protocols, including the ban on interfering in a host country's internal affairs.

More recently, Hoekstra has accused Canadian officials of interfering in US elections, citing Canadian politicians who criticized the tariffs in American media and an anti-tariff advertisement from Ontario that aired on US television. "If some of it becomes election interference, America will respond to it," he told a Canadian podcast, adding that Canadians should "keep your nose out of American politics."

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, a target of his comments, said Canada "would never do that" and would "never accept that also being done to us in Canada." Speaking in Turkey, Carney said there was "no merit" to the interference claims and that he was "disappointed that their envoy sees that as his role, to make these suggestions."

Roland Paris, director of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa and a foreign affairs adviser to former prime minister Justin Trudeau, called the remarks an "extraordinary thing" for an ambassador to say about his host country. He said they looked like an attempt to "manufacture a pretext for the Trump administration's own political difficulties." Paris argued that Hoekstra's comments have aggravated tensions rather than managed them, and that each one seems to leave Canadians more determined to stand up to the Trump administration. He also pointed to US polling showing voters increasingly linking tariffs, the war and the cost of living.

The US embassy denied that Hoekstra said Canada would be blamed for a weak Republican result, saying his words were "grossly taken out of context" from a broader discussion. It said the ambassador has consistently held that Canadian media overstate the relevance of Canadian issues in American elections, and that Americans will decide their elections on issues important to them.

Hoekstra has been at the center of earlier clashes. At a Canadian American Business event last year, witnesses say he delivered an expletive-laden tirade at Ontario's trade representative after the province ran anti-tariff ads in the US featuring Ronald Reagan. Ontario's premier called it "absolutely unacceptable" and "unbecoming of an ambassador." Last week, former president Barack Obama mocked Trump's fixation on Canada at a Democratic rally in Detroit, calling it a "historical adversary" and noting that Canadians gave Americans "Martin Short … and maple syrup."