More than 60,000 Canadians have signed a petition calling for the expulsion of US Ambassador Pete Hoekstra, accusing him of repeated interventions in Canadian political discourse and normalising Trump‑era threats to annex Canada as the '51st state'.
The online petition alleges that Hoekstra has openly supported Trump’s trade agenda and targeted Canadian policy debates, including inviting a Freedom Convoy leader to his Fourth of July celebration and vocalising frustration over the removal of US alcohol from Canadian shelves.
The US Embassy acknowledged the petition in a brief statement but chose not to comment further on its contents.
These tensions unfold as Canada and the US enter a critical phase of trade talks, striving to avoid a looming 50% tariff on roughly $20–$28 billion worth of Canadian exports, an escalation originally announced by President Trump following complaints over US car, dairy and alcohol imports.
Petitions are a long‑standing tool in Canadian politics; if a member of Parliament authorises a petition that gathers at least 500 valid signatures, it is presented to the House of Commons and requires a government response. This petition has crossed that threshold and will be debated in Parliament later this year.
Green Party leader Elizabeth May will sponsor the petition, stating that she is obliged to support citizen initiatives regardless of her personal agreement with them. The proposal to recall the ambassador reflects broader concerns about U.S. diplomatic interference in domestic Canadian affairs.
As negotiations continue, Canadian officials warn that any new tariffs could trigger further retaliatory measures by the U.S., underscoring the high stakes of this trans‑border dispute.
