A petition to strip U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra of his position is gaining steam in Canada after backlash over stances he took that critics say undermined Canadian-U.S. diplomatic relations.The Alberta-based petition to remove Hoekstra, President Donald Trump‘s ambassador to Canada, has gained over 100,000 signatures as of Thursday. Ottawa is expected to submit a written response to the effort to remove Hoekstra from his post within 45 days of Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party of Canada, presenting the petition to the House of Commons this fall.The petition’s author, Lee Walker, told CBC News on Wednesday she’s not sure the government will take steps to declare Hoekstra persona non grata but hopes the petition will send a message.
The petition claims Hoekstra has repeatedly made public statements undermining Canada-U.S. diplomatic relations, including characterizing the 2025 Canadian federal election as “anti-American.” In addition, it says Hoekstra “normalized” Trump’s threats to make Canada the 51st state, writing that the ambassador described such rhetoric as a “term of endearment.”In June, Hoekstra told reporters that talks about annexing Canada would be a “great discussion to be had” by the leaders of the two countries. The U.S. envoy has also shared Trump’s posts referring to Canada as the 51st state.Another point of contention comes from claims that Hoekstra is linked to the Alberta separatist movement, saying he is affiliated with a U.S. voter ID app used by the movement to identify names and addresses of potential separatist referendum supporters.The Alberta Prosperity Project met with State Department officials three times between April 2025 and January 2026, with Hoekstra claiming no knowledge of those meetings, raising serious questions about U.S. diplomatic interference in Canadian unity, according to the petition. Hoekstra has also denied knowing the app was being used by the separatists.President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney, right, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, from left, and Pete Hoekstra, U.S. Ambassador to Canada, listen on the sidelines of the G7 Summit, Monday, June 16, 2025, in Kananaskis, Canada. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
