Trump’s ambassador to Canada confirmed in the middle of a trade war

Pete Hoekstra, candidate for U.S. Ambassador to Canada, takes his seat for a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the U.S. Ambassadors to Mexico, Japan and Canada, Thursday, March 13, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

WASHINGTON -- Former Michigan congressman Pete Hoekstra has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the new United States ambassador to Canada.

He will become America’s top diplomat in Ottawa in a fraught time in U.S.-Canada relations, with President Donald Trump hitting Canada with tariffs on automobiles, steel and aluminum and continuing to hold out the threat of economywide fentanyl-related duties.

While Trump has repeatedly claimed Canada should become a U.S. state, Hoekstra told his confirmation hearing that Canada is a sovereign country.

In a statement issued today, Hoekstra says Canada is America’s most valuable trading partner, its largest source of foreign investment and largest source of energy imports.

Hoekstra says he will work with the Canadian government to review and strengthen the trading partnership, secure borders, confront the threat of fentanyl and cooperate on national security.

Hoekstra served as ambassador to the Netherlands during the first Trump administration.

By Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 9, 2025.