As the petition grows, here's what would happen if Carney actually booted the U.S. ambassador - National Post
U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra takes part in the PNWER (Pacific Northwest Economic Region) Annual Summit, in Edmonton Monday July 20, 2026. Photo by David Bloom /PostmediaArticle contentWASHINGTON, D.C. — Less than a month ago, Green Party MP Elizabeth May sponsored a parliamentary petition calling for the removal of U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra, accusing him of undermining Canada-U.S. diplomatic relations and normalizing “51st state” language.
Growing slowly at first, the signatures have now climbed past 229,000, making headlines around the globe — a not-so-subtle reflection of the Canadian mood toward both Hoekstra and his boss, U.S. President Donald Trump.
For Anne Leahy, a former Canadian ambassador to Russia who was herself declared persona non grata by the Soviet Union in 1988, the petition’s message is that Hoekstra may be testing the limits of Canadian public tolerance.
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“It has really sent a signal of alarm here that the ambassador may be coming a bit too close to what the general population deems acceptable,” said Leahy.
“The message, I think, has been received at the other end.”
Although the petition has caught fire, few actually believe Prime Minister Mark Carney will seek Hoekstra’s expulsion.
May said she would be “astonished” if Ottawa expelled Hoekstra.
Andrew Hale, fellow at Washington-based Advancing American Freedom, likewise does not expect Canada to do so, but argued that Washington should recall him.
“At this point, it needs to be the Trump administration to withdraw him,” he said, citing reports that Hoekstra cursed at David Paterson, Ontario’s representative in Washington, at an Ottawa event last year.
Hoekstra has not publicly responded to the petition. In an email, a U.S. embassy spokesperson said: “The Embassy is aware of this petition. We decline to comment further.”
Petition e-7531 was drafted by Calgary resident Leanne Walker, and it calls on Ottawa to declare Hoekstra persona non grata, request his removal and lodge a formal complaint with Washington. The proposal was drafted based on Hoekstra characterizing last year’s Canadian federal election as “anti-American,” calling “51st-state” a “term of endearment.
May said parliamentary rules prevent her, as the petition’s sponsor, from taking a position on its demands. Because the petition remains open until Nov. 18, May cannot present it to the House until after it closes. The government would then be required to respond in writing within 45 days of its presentation.
Trump has left more than half of the United States’ 195 ambassadorial posts vacant, raising the prospect that Ottawa could be left dealing with a chargé d’affaires for an extended period if Hoekstra were recalled or expelled.
If Hoekstra leaves, the embassy’s deputy chief of mission — a career State Department officer — would serve as chargé d’affaires. Hale said that could leave Ottawa without an envoy with the political access of a presidential appointee, particularly if Trump delayed naming a successor.
