Anger at Donald Trump grows: 170,000 Canadians want his ambassador out
An official petition submitted to the Canadian parliament demands that the government expel US Ambassador Pete Hoekstra due to allegations of infringing on local sovereignty. The petition reflects the low point in relations between the neighbors, against the backdrop of a trade war and tensions with the Donald Trump administration.
Relations between the United States and its neighbor to the north have never been more strained, and now public anger in Canada is reaching an unprecedented boiling point. An official petition submitted to the parliament in Ottawa, which has gathered more than 170,000 signatures in just a few weeks, calls on the Canadian government to declare the United States Ambassador, Pete Hoekstra, persona non grata and remove him from the country immediately.
According to a report in the New York Times, the move reflects a historic low in diplomatic relations between the two long-standing allies, in the midst of an intense trade war and growing political tension since the return of Donald Trump to the White House.
Hoekstra, a former Republican congressman from Michigan, is perceived by the Canadian public as a blunt and unapologetic mouthpiece for the American president. Among other things, the petition claims that the ambassador normalized Donald Trump's provocative statements about annexing Canada as the "51st state" of the United States, dismissed the citizens' frustration with disdain, and even harmed local sovereignty.
Resentment against Hoekstra intensified following meetings held by American officials with separatist activists from the province of Alberta, and also after the ambassador chose to invite to his official residence for the July 4th celebrations a populist right-wing activist who was convicted of organizing the protest convoy that paralyzed the capital in 2022. To hold a debate in the Canadian parliament, only 500 signatures are required, and the leader of the Green Party, Elizabeth May, is expected to bring the demand to the agenda in the upcoming autumn session.
The current crisis is taking place against the backdrop of a dramatic drop in Canadian trust toward the power to the south. A survey by the Pew Research Center indicated that only about 35% of Canadians currently see the United States as a reliable partner, compared to 82% in 2022, alongside a decrease of more than a quarter in tourist travel by Canadian citizens across the border. On the other hand, the business community and joint trade organizations defended the ambassador, arguing that his direct style helps to understand the positions of the White House during this turbulent and complex period.
