A petition to oust U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra has garnered over 215,000 signatures as of Monday, as the two countries grapple with a deteriorating trade relationship and increasing animosity between their leaders.
The push to remove Hoekstra comes as a new wave of 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian products imported to the U.S. are set to go into effect Wednesday — the latest in a series of duties President Donald Trump has imposed on America’s longtime ally and neighbor to the north.
The petition asks the Canadian government to declare Hoekstra “persona non grata,” a latin phrase meaning unwelcome person, which would prohibit him from entering the country.
Only 500 signatures are required to bring a petition to Parliament’s floor for discussion, and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May is expected to present the request in the House of Commons this fall for a vote.
Trending
“She has an obligation to sponsor petitions brought forward by citizens, regardless of whether she personally agrees with what the petition is asking for,” May’s office said in a statement to the BBC.
The proposal also asks Canada to assert that Hoekstra’s conduct is “inconsistent” with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, a 1961 international treaty that serves as the framework for diplomatic relations between nations.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the petition, which details a list of concerns about Hoekstra’s tenure as an ambassador and alleges he has “repeatedly made public statements undermining the Canada-U.S. diplomatic relations.”
“Ambassador Hoekstra has normalized the Trump administration’s threats to annex Canada as the ‘51st state,’ describing such rhetoric as a ‘term of endearment,’” the petition reads.
The Alberta Prosperity Project — which advocates for the province to secede and become an independent nation — met with the U.S. State Department officials three times between April 2025 and January 2026, “raising serious questions about U.S. diplomatic interference in Canadian unity,” the petition stated. Hoekstra claims to have no knowledge of those meetings.
The petition also demands a review of a “U.S. diplomatic interference in Canadian domestic affairs” to be conducted by a parliamentary committee.
Calgary resident Leanne Walker filed the petition, which opened for signatures on July 21 and will close on Nov. 18. Walker told CBC News, Canada’s national broadcaster, that the interest in her petition was “beyond what she expected.”
“It tells me that it’s not a fringe issue, and that a lot of Canadians are uncomfortable with how Hoekstra has been repeating Trump talking points about our sovereignty and Canada as a whole,” Walker said.
The relationship between Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has soured as the two countries navigate a trade war and the resulting economic pressure. Carney committed to ramping up talks with the U.S. after Trump announced his latest round of tariffs in July.
Trump called Canada’s leadership “nasty” during a speech in Las Vegas earlier this month, and Carney responded by saying he is focused on defending his country’s workers and businesses.
Trump also threatened to add additional tariffs after smoke from Canada’s wildfires drifted into the continental U.S. — including Washington, D.C.
Carney said he has “made [it] very clear” to Trump that Canada is doing the most it can to control the wildfires.
Author
