Front Burner

Washington accuses Canada of meddling in midterms

2026-11-02

Earlier this month, U.S. ambassador Pete Hoekstra, made the dramatic allegation that Canada could be engaging in election interference in the U.S. 

The ambassador was pointing to a few different things. One, was comments made by Industry Minister Melanie Joly about Canada’s tariff strategy. Another was Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s anti-tariff ads that ran in the U.S. last fall. They also pointed to Canadians that have been charged or sentenced in the U.S. with voter fraud-related incidents as part of a broad crackdown on non-citizen voting. 

So what actually counts as foreign interference? We’re joined by Leah West, an associate professor of international affairs at Carleton University – and a former advisor for Canada’s Foreign Interference Commission.

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Front Burner is a daily news podcast that takes you deep into the stories shaping Canada and the world. Each morning, from Monday to Friday, host Jayme Poisson talks with the smartest people covering the biggest stories to help you understand what’s going on.