A petition to declare US Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra 'persona non grata' and have him removed from his post had received more than 116,000 signatures as of Thursday, the latest sign of deepening rifts between the neighboring countries.

OTTAWA - Nearly 30,000 Canadians have signed a petition calling for U.S. President Donald Trump's representative in Ottawa to be kicked out of the country.

A petition set to be presented in the House of Commons this fall calls on the government to declare U.S. Aambassador Pete Hoekstra persona non grata and remove him from Canada.

The petition comes as new U.S. tariffs on Canada are set to take effect this month