On the eve of the 2025 federal election call, an excerpt from Danielle Smith’s interview with Breitbart News started making the rounds on social media. On Sunday it hit mainstream media.

In the interview, Smith said: “The longer this [tariff] dispute goes on, politicians posture, and it seems to be benefiting the Liberals right now so I would hope that we could put things on pause is what I’ve told administration officials… Let’s just put things on pause so we can get through an election.”

Why should the Trump administration care about the Canadian election? Smith went on to say that she told the Americans “I would say, on balance, the perspective that Pierre [Poilievre] would bring would be very much in sync with, I think… the new direction in America. And I think we’d have a really great relationship for the period of time they’re both in (office).”