U.S. Embassy Accuses Ottawa of Brushing Off Midterm Interference, Ottawa Apologises for Brushing Too Loudly
The U.S. Embassy said Wednesday that the Carney government is "brushing off" potential interference in next month's midterm elections. Canadian officials found the charge deeply hurtful, mostly because nobody in Ottawa remembers being asked to look.
Global Affairs quickly set up a working group. Its first meeting ran ninety minutes and ended with an agreement that "interference" is, happily, spelled the same in both countries. The second meeting was about the catering.
Officials pointed out that Canada's ability to sway American voters is limited. It consists mainly of the CBC, which Americans don't watch, and Tim Hortons, which they no longer notice. One senior official spoke on condition that he be allowed to finish his double-double first. "We have a memo," he said. "It's bilingual. In several swing states, that alone would count as foreign interference."
The Prime Minister's Office promised a "fulsome review" of the embassy's concerns. It is expected in spring, about five months after the election it is reviewing.
"That isn't brushing anything off," a spokesperson said. "That's process. We honour our commitments on the timeline our commitments can bear."
The embassy is said to be quietly impressed. In Washington, a report that shows up months after the vote it concerns is called a certification challenge, and those usually take a lot more shouting.