Diplomacy or ‘interference’? U.S. warns Canadian officials as midterms near

America’s top diplomat in Ottawa appears to be conflating public diplomacy with “foreign interference” as the Republicans brace for what polls suggest could be a bruising in the U.S. midterms. 

The U.S. Embassy in Ottawa issued a list of nine “facts” Wednesday that it claims demonstrate that Canadian politicians — mostly Industry Minister Melanie Joly and Ontario Premier Doug Ford — have been attempting to “influence” American politics.

However, experts were quick to note there are key differences between influence, who is a standard part of diplomatic relations, and interference, which is typically done covertly and with hostile intent.

All nine of the facts were drawn from public statements, media coverage, official government documents, even Ontario’s anti-tariff advertising campaign. Most had to do with Canada’s opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump’s unilateral trade war and tariffs.

The embassy conflated those public activities with “potential interference in U.S. elections” on the eve of next month’s midterm elections. An Ipsos poll for Reuters released Tuesday suggested Trump’s approval rating was down to 31 per cent — a historic low — and that 47 per cent of registered voters wanted the Democrats to control Congress, to just 35 per cent who preferred Republican control.

“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,” the embassy wrote in admonishment.

“All Canadians should refrain from attempting to participate in or influence U.S. elections in any way. Americans decide America’s elections.”

Public officials publicly commenting on another country’s policies or decisions is not typically considered “foreign interference” under Canadian or American law. Trump’s social media account — or U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra’s retweets of his boss — demonstrate that it happens all the time.

There’s a difference between trying to influence a policy or politician in Canada and foreign interference, according to Carleton University national security law professor Leah West.

“In Canadian law, foreign influence that is a threat to the security of Canada … has to be covert or clandestine or involve a threat to a person,” West said in an interview.

“None of those activities (listed by the U.S. Embassy) would meet that definition … Is it attempting to influence elected officials? Certainly. But that’s not what we call foreign influenced activities that would be a threat or a crime in Canada. It does not meet the threshold.”

The activities detailed by the U.S. Embassy also don’t appear to fit the definition of foreign interference in American law.

The U.S.-based legal think tank Brennan Centre noted the federal government distinguishes between election interference — “degrading or disrupting the ability of election administrators and election workers to conduct free and fair elections” — and the murkier idea of foreign influence.

“Foreign influence (can refer to) a myriad of activities by foreign governments or their agents to sway the participants in elections, including candidates and voters,” wrote Lawrence Nordon and Kate Lurie.

“Under the First Amendment, the government cannot limit Americans’ free speech or access to information, regardless of the source. However, it can expose the foreign source of the information when the intelligence is available and, in some cases, indict foreign actors for otherwise breaking U.S. law, such as hiding their role in sowing false election narratives and laundering money to sidestep U.S. sanctions.”

In other words, an Ontario government-branded advertising campaign encouraging Trump to abandon his tariff crusade is unlikely to qualify as covert foreign interference since its funding and the person or government that commissioned it is clearly identified.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Joly said the U.S. Embassy neglected to point out that she met with Republicans as well as Democrats on various trips to the country.

“That is diplomacy, that’s what we do,” Joly said.

“Now, the American administration decided to put tariffs on the world, including on Canada. And that is hurting people on both sides of the border. And that’s a problem that they need to address. Meanwhile, we’ll do our work.”

West wondered who the target audience for the U.S. Embassy’s warning was — given both the Canadian and U.S. governments are likely to know that public advocacy isn’t the same thing as covert interference, and that it’s unlikely to change Canadian politicians’ behaviour.

John Manley, the former deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister, had an even more pointed question.

“Why is the ambassador wasting his time on this? Doesn’t he have anything constructive to do?,” Manley said in in interview with Global News.

With a file from Global News’ Touria Izri