More than 110,000 Canadians call for ouster of US envoy

As of Thursday, more than 110,000 Canadians have signed a petition demanding the removal of US Ambassador Pete Hoekstra, highlighting the increasing tensions between the two neighboring countries. Hoekstra, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump and a former Republican congressman from Michigan, has faced significant criticism during his tenure as ambassador since April 2025.

A recent Globe and Mail editorial described Hoekstra as eager to echo his boss's aggressive behavior, suggesting that he fails to comprehend why Canadians are upset over President Trump's threats and rhetoric. The petition accuses Hoekstra of normalizing the Trump administration's threats to annex Canada as the 51st US state and calls for him to be declared persona non grata and expelled from Canada.

As of Thursday morning, the petition had garnered over 116,000 signatures, which will be presented in the House of Commons by Green Party lawmaker Elizabeth May after the signature deadline on November 18. Hoekstra's tenure has been marked by several controversies, including a profanity-laced tirade against an Ontario official over an anti-tariff advertisement that quoted former US President Ronald Reagan on free trade. This ad angered Trump, leading him to suspend all trade negotiations with Canada.

In June, Hoekstra suggested that the idea of the US annexing Canada would be a great topic for discussion with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. He has defended Trump's tariffs and criticized Canadians for referring to them as part of a trade war. Hoekstra's past as US ambassador to the Netherlands also brought controversy, as he faced backlash for falsely claiming in 2015 that Islamist violence had created "no-go zones" in the Netherlands and that Muslims had burned politicians.