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).”
Imagine pivoting from accusations of behind-closed-doors corruption investigation by the RCMP with respect to AHS contracts… To full-on election interference in broad fucking daylight for anyone who can (checks notes) listen to a podcast to hear for themselves.
8D chess?
This is beyond absurd. Actively soliciting foreign interference in our election while being recorded for a podcast isn’t just political malpractice – it’s a fundamental attack on Canadian sovereignty.
The fact that Smith openly admitted asking Trump officials to time political decisions to influence our electoral outcome is staggering. Not subtle backroom deals, not plausible deniability – she straight-up broadcasted it to anyone with a podcast app. That’s not 8-dimensional chess, that’s knocking over the board and declaring yourself the winner.
What’s most concerning isn’t just the brazen nature, but how it reveals a willingness to sacrifice democratic legitimacy for partisan gain. Whether you support Liberals, Conservatives, or anyone else, the principle that Canadians alone should determine our elections without foreign manipulation is fundamental to our democratic system.
When politicians openly court foreign intervention rather than winning through better policies or honest debate, they undermine the very foundation of our democracy. Smith’s comments show exactly what happens when winning power trumps respecting democratic principles – you end up accidentally admitting to election interference on a podcast.
This isn’t a left/right issue. It’s a democratic sovereignty issue that should concern everyone regardless of political leaning.