U.S. President Donald Trump with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on May 6, 2025 (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok/Flickr)
When the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded after World War II in 1949, Canada was among the founding members. The United States' military, political and economic alliance with Canada goes way back, but during Donald Trump's second presidency, U.S. relations with Canada have suffered considerably — not only because of Trump's tariffs, but also, because of his proposal to make Canada "the 51st state." Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has made it abundantly clear that he has no desire for Canada to become part of the United States.
Former Michigan Republican Party Chairman and ex-Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Michigan) has been serving as U.S. ambassador to Canada since late April 2025, and he finds himself serving as a bridge between Trump and the Canadian officials who are quite frustrated with the U.S. president.
Politico reporters Mickey Djuric and Mike Blanchfield examine the complexities of Hoekstra's job in an article published on May 1.
Reporting from Ottawa, Canada, Djuric and Blanchfield explain, "Now one year into his job in the top diplomatic post, Hoekstra's relationship with his Canadian hosts remains chilly. But it also seems as if both sides have at least begun to understand each other a bit more, with a pragmatic acceptance of their new realities."
A Canadian official, interviewed on condition of anonymity, argued that fellow Canadians should listen to what Hoekstra has to say — despite their understandable frustration with Trump.
The official told Politico, "Pay attention to Pete Hoekstra. I know he's easy to hate and vilify, but some of the s–– he says is channeling what the (Trump) administration wants."
Another Canadian official, also interviewed by Politico on condition of anonymity, said of Hoekstra, "He is more of a talker than a listener in terms of wanting to articulate a strong, dominant position of the president. And we get that. But it is limiting his ability to solve problems and root issues."
Politico also interviewed Hoekstra himself for the article, arguing that his job is to articulate Trump's views to Canadian officials and "address the things that we believe are unfair in the Canada-U.S. trade relationship."
Hoekstra told Politico, "It's not about me, OK. Donald Trump did not tell me to go to Canada and become liked. Matter of fact, I think he would have said, 'If you go to Canada and you're liked, it probably means that you're not doing your job.'"