Canada Tells Diplomats to Steer Clear of U.S. Midterm Candidates as Navarro Says ‘Get the Hell Out’

File photo: The Embassy of Canada in Washington, D.C. (AgnosticPreachersKid / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0).

The memo went out midday Tuesday, and it reads like instructions for handling a live wire: if you find yourself in the same physical space as a U.S. midterm candidate, do not let your photo be taken, do not let your name or job title appear in anything public, and for God's sake do not meet them on purpose. That is the position Ottawa has now put its diplomats in — and the Trump administration's reaction has been about as diplomatic as a fistfight.

Glen Linder, the assistant deputy minister for the Americas at Global Affairs Canada, sent the guidance to members of the Canadian foreign service stationed in the United States, according to the memo obtained by The Canadian Press. The instructions: don't meet with midterm candidates, don't attend their events. Meetings with other elected officials who aren't running can happen if necessary — but only after talking it through with senior officials first.

"We need to take our obligation of nonpartisanship extremely seriously"

Linder's memo doesn't mince words about the stakes. "Especially in view of heightened sensitivity, we need to take our obligation of nonpartisanship extremely seriously and take a very risk-averse approach," it says. The memo notes these are roughly the same rules that apply during Canadian election periods, when public servants are expected to avoid contact with elected officials except in exceptional circumstances.

A Global Affairs Canada spokesperson told Politico, which first reported the directive, that "government officials are always instructed to limit public events and stakeholder engagement during election periods in their host country." Routine, in other words — at least on paper. The timing, though, is anything but routine.

The accusation that triggered it

The memo landed one day after the U.S. Embassy in Canada released a fact sheet accusing Canadian politicians of interfering in the Nov. 3 midterms. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly is quoted five times in the list, which the embassy says shows Canadian officials openly describing "plans to influence American politics." Ontario Premier Doug Ford made the list too. So did Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, who campaigned for Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, and Bernadette Jordan — a former Liberal cabinet minister now serving as Canada's consul general in Boston — who was photographed at an Oct. 13 roundtable that included only Democrats.

"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. Both Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ford disputed the interference claims on Wednesday.

Navarro: "Get the hell out"

Peter Navarro, the senior trade counselor to President Donald Trump, poured gasoline on the fire Thursday in comments to Politico: Canada needed to "get the hell out" of U.S. politics. "They're scurrying to get out of the way," Navarro said. "I'm delighted that this observation raised the level of awareness about it."

Navarro went further, claiming Canadian officials are funneling money to Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for the Michigan Senate race, and "trying to screw" Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine. He added that he was not speaking on behalf of Trump or the State Department — a caveat worth noting, given that his words still ricochet through a trade war both countries keep saying they'd like to de-escalate.

Why this matters more than a memo

Here's the part that should worry anyone who cares about the Canada-U.S. relationship: the directive effectively sidelines Canadian diplomats from normal political contact in the U.S. for weeks, right when Ottawa is trying to negotiate a trade deal with Washington. The embassy fact sheet, the memo, Navarro's comments — each side is now reading the other's routine behaviour as hostility.

Carney has spent months trying to reduce Canada's reliance on the U.S. while keeping the door to a deal open. This week, that door got a little narrower. A Canadian consul general in Boston now has to check with headquarters before sitting in a room with an American elected official. That's not how you build a partnership — it's how you manage a suspicion.

Sources

• Politico (via Newsmax), "Canada Urges Diplomats to Not Engage With Midterm Candidates" (Oct 22, 2026) — newsmax.com
• The Canadian Press (via europesays), "Canadian diplomats told not to meet with U.S. midterm candidates" — Glen Linder memo obtained by CP (Oct 22, 2026) — europesays.com
• CBC News: The National, "Canadian diplomats told to avoid appearances with U.S. midterm candidates" (video, Oct 22, 2026) — youtube.com
• The Hill, "Canadian diplomats barred interacting with US midterm candidates: Reports" (Oct 22, 2026) — scoopfeeds.com (The Hill report)