Gov. Brian Schweitzer says there was no deal on the table to commute the sentence of a Canadian on death row in Montana and recent reports to the contrary are just "Canadian domestic politics."

His comments follow reports by a Canadian news agency that the governor told a top Canadian consular official last year that he was prepared to consider commuting Ronald Smith's sentence -- and transferring the convicted killer to a Canadian prison -- if Canada would agree to keep Smith behind bars for at least five years.

Schweitzer said Tuesday there was no such deal.

He says officials with the previous Canadian administration told him they wanted him to commute Smith's sentence. He says he listened to what they had to say but made it clear that the state Board of Pardons and Parole would first have to consider the case.