The Canadian government has instructed its diplomats not to meet with or attend events alongside candidates running in the U.S. midterm elections.
The directive comes after the U.S. Embassy suggested remarks by Canadian leaders could amount to election interference, a charge Ottawa denies.
Glen Linder, assistant deputy minister for the Americas at Global Affairs Canada, sent the instruction in an Oct. 20 a memo to members of the foreign service in the United States.
The memo, which was obtained by multiple media outlets, says that if diplomats end up in the “same physical space” as candidates or elected officials, they should avoid being photographed or having their name appear in public communications materials….