U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has tapped former Michigan congressman Pete Hoekstra to be his ambassador to Canada.
Hoekstra served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 until 2011. He also previously served as Trump’s ambassador to the Netherlands in the former president’s first administration.
“In my second term, Pete will help me once again put America first,” Trump said in a statement announcing the nomination.
“I am confident that he will continue to represent our country well in this new role.”
In his own statement posted on the social media site X, Hoekstra said he was “honoured for the opportunity.”
This nomination is a departure in one respect from the U.S. ambassadors to Ottawa over the last two decades.
Until the late 2000s, they regularly had elected experience. But under Barack Obama, Joe Biden and in Trump’s first term they tended to be party fundraisers and organizers.
Hoekstra appears to be a combination of both as he has been the chair of the Michigan Republican Party for most of the past year.
Hoekstra is one of Trump’s first nominees for an ambassador position. The president-elect has also named nominees for ambassador roles to the United Nations, NATO and Israel.
Bruce Heyman, who had been Obama’s envoy to Canada from 2014 to 2017, said in a post on X that the early naming shows the “importance of the relationship,” and pointed out that Hoekstra being from a border state gives him “direct knowledge and understanding of Canada.”
“[This] should be good news for the Canada-U.S. relationship as they will have someone to work with to navigate the changes that are coming,” Heyman said.
During his tenure as a congressman, Hoekstra chaired the House intelligence committee. If confirmed in the role, he’ll be coming to the nation’s capital that is currently swirling with questions about foreign interference.
Trump spoke to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau the day after he won back the White House and, according to a readout from the phone call, “trade and security issues” were among the topics discussed.
Trade largely took centre stage in the ten-minute conversation, according to a source familiar with the call.
Trump asked the prime minister about the tariffs Canada has imposed on Chinese-made electric vehicles, steel and aluminum, the source said. The two also discussed other Chinese trade issues and Trump raised concerns about Chinese fentanyl in the U.S. market.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with former U.S. Ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft following a ground breaking ceremony for an Ottawa distribution centre in August 2018. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
Trump touts trade agreement in annoucement
In his statement announcing Hoekstra’s nomination, Trump touted the negotiation of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) — which was negotiated during Trump’s first term.
Kelly Craft, Trump’s previous ambassador to Canada, previously told Radio-Canada that Trump will be intent on making changes to the trade agreement, which is up for review in 2026.
Craft also suggested that Trump will likely pressure Canada to come up with a faster timeline to meet its NATO defence spending commitment. Trudeau has vowed to spend two per cent of its GDP on the military by 2032 — but Craft suggested that might not be fast enough for Trump.
Before Hoekstra takes up the ambassador role, he will need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, a process which will likely take place in early 2025.
The current U.S. ambassador to Canada, David Cohen, has been in the role since 2021.