OTTAWA – U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra told a closed-door meeting on Tuesday that Ottawa could be blamed if key races in next week’s midterm elections go against U.S. President Donald Trump’s Republican Party.
According to three sources with knowledge of the discussions, Hoekstra delivered the message at a private business lunch hosted at his official residence in Ottawa.
The sources said Hoekstra expressly mentioned races in Michigan and Maine, where the Republicans need to win if they hope to hold on to the U.S. Senate.The ambassador told the business crowd that if those U.S. states fall to the Democrats, it will likely get more difficult for Canada after the midterms because the president will not be happy and Canada could be blamed.
CTV News is not identifying the sources because they were not authorized to disclose details of the off-the-record meeting.However, they declined to share what that broader context was.
“The ambassador has consistently said that the Canadian media is attempting to overstate the relevance of Canadian issues in American elections. As we have previously stated, Americans will decide American elections based on issues that are important to them,” the spokesperson said.
In a statement, Beth Burke, CEO of the Canadian American Business Council, which helped organize the lunch, noted that the event was meant to be off the record.
“The ambassador spoke very positively about the U.S.-Canada relationship and his hopes that a deal will be reached,” she said. “These comments are being taken out of context and don’t reflect his overall message.”
