Nearly 30,000 Canadians petition to remove U.S. ambassador Pete Hoekstra from Canada
A petition launched by a Calgary woman calls for U.S. President Donald Trump's representative in Ottawa to be declared persona non grata over diplomatic interference claims.
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Nearly 30,000 Canadians have signed a petition calling for U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra to be declared persona non grata and removed from Canada. The petition, set to be presented in Parliament in the fall, accuses Hoekstra of making statements that undermine the Canada-U.S. diplomatic relationship and of "making repeated interventions in Canadian political discourse inconsistent with diplomatic protocol."
The petition, launched by a woman from Calgary, will be presented in Parliament by Green Party Leader Elizabeth May. Members of Parliament can table petitions without endorsing their contents. The petition also calls for a parliamentary committee to review U.S. diplomatic interference in Canadian affairs.
Hoekstra made headlines earlier this summer when he said Canada's annexation by the United States would be a "great discussion" for Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Trump to have. Last September, he told a crowd in Halifax he was disappointed by the "anti-American" tone in Canada's most recent federal election campaign, calling it dangerous for Canadian political leaders to describe Trump administration tariffs as a trade war. He has repeatedly criticized Canadian politicians for discouraging travel to the U.S. and for removing American liquor from shelves.
Responding to reporters who challenged his comments, Hoekstra said it is his job to "present the president's views." A spokesperson for the U.S. embassy in Ottawa said the embassy is aware of the petition but declined to comment further.
Under the UN's Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, a persona non grata declaration allows a government to strip diplomatic immunity from an individual and force them to leave the country. Canada has used this tool in the past — most recently declaring Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei persona non grata in 2023 after an intelligence report accused him of targeting Conservative MP Michael Chong. In 2024, Canada expelled six Indian diplomats and consular officials after the RCMP alleged they were involved in a campaign targeting Canadian citizens, a campaign the police linked to the June 2023 murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia. In July 2026, a U.S. indictment alleged Indian gangster Lawrence Bishnoi ordered Nijjar's assassination.
Under Prime Minister Mark Carney's leadership, the federal government has worked to improve relations with both China and India.
What threshold of petitioned signatures, if any, would trigger a formal government review of Hoekstra's conduct?
Has Canada's government indicated whether it believes Hoekstra's statements constitute diplomatic interference?
We'll update this story as answers emerge.
By the numbers
How many Canadians have signed the petition against U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra?
Nearly 30,000 Canadians have signed the petition calling for Pete Hoekstra to be declared persona non grata and removed from Canada.
When will the petition be presented in Parliament?
The petition is set to be presented in Parliament in the fall of 2026.
What did Hoekstra say about Canada's potential annexation by the U.S.?
In the summer of 2026, Pete Hoekstra said Canada's annexation by the United States would be a 'great discussion' for Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Trump to have.
When did Canada most recently use the persona non grata declaration?
Canada declared Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei persona non grata in 2023 after an intelligence report accused him of targeting Conservative MP Michael Chong.
