The US ambassador has suggested Canada could be blamed if Republicans perform poorly in next week’s midterm elections, the latest intervention from a controversial figure who has been accused of inflaming a bitter dispute that has angered and baffled residents of both countries.

On Wednesday, CTV news reported that Pete Hoekstra told business leaders at a closed door meeting that if a number of swing races – including Maine and Michigan – go to the Democrats, it could make things harder for Canada because Donald Trump might try to blame the loss on it.

“That’s an interesting way of framing it,” the prime minister, Mark Carney , told reporters when asked about the allegations.

For months, Canada and the US have been locked in a bitter tariff war, with Ottawa retaliating against illegal US tariffs and targeting goods in states that rely heavily on trade with Canada.

Carney said that Canada “will pursue” such a deal if it presents itself, but that Ottawa’s trade negotiators are “not in that position right…