It’s “offensive and false,” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said, firmly denying that she asked US officials to interfere in Canada’s federal election by delaying tariffs, as suggested by her March 8 interview with Breitbart, a right-wing American news outlet.
“Any suggestion that I requested the United States to intervene in our electoral process is categorically untrue,” Smith said through her press secretary Sam Blackett. “My comments to American officials were solely focused on the economic wellbeing of Albertans and Canadians.”
In the interview, Smith recalled telling US administration officials: “Let’s just put things on pause so we can get through an election. Let’s have the best person at the table make the argument for how they would deal with it — and I think that’s Pierre Poilievre.”
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Smith’s remarks surfaced just as Prime Minister Mark Carney called a federal election on Sunday, setting the stage for an April 28 vote where trade relations with the United States under President Trump will likely be a central issue.
Smith has been among several provincial leaders lobbying against Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods, but her comments about electoral timing and her explicit preference for Conservative leadership have drawn particular scrutiny.
In a separate statement Sunday, Smith clarified that she has been working to convince US officials about the potential harm tariffs could have on both countries, framing her position as standard advocacy rather than electoral interference.
“Now that an election has been called, I would reiterate my hope that the United States would refrain from placing tariffs on their closest ally during this sensitive period,” the statement read.
The federal election is scheduled for April 28.
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