The United States Senate confirmed on Wednesday that Pete Hoekstra, former ambassador to the Netherlands, to be an ambassador to Canada, a position he assumes when the traditional narrow ties have been tensioned by the tariff policy of President Donald Trump and the comments on the annexation.
The vote was 60 to 37 in favor of confirming Hoekstra, with the support of several Democrats, as well as Trump’s republican companions for a candidate who has also been a business executive and republican member of the House of Representatives.
The confirmation of Hoekstra, which happens to David Cohen, occurs as the relations between Washington and Ottawa are more tense than they have been in years, in the midst of a global commercial war and a hostile rhetoric that has traveled diplomatic relations.
American officials initially made contradictory statements about whether a 10 percent reference rate would be applied to all goods to Canada. The White House has confirmed that it will not. Paul Beaudry, former vice governor of the Bank of Canada, says it is good news for Canada for now, but the Trump administration could still change their minds at any time.
At his hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last month, Hoekstra said he considers Canada as an independent nation, pointing out narrow ties between his native state of Michigan and Ontario.
“Canada is a sovereign state, yes,” Hoekstra said at the audience, when Democratic Senator Chris Coans de Delaware asked if he agreed that Canada is a sovereign state and should not even be known as a joke as state 51.
Trump has suggested that the United States should attach Canada, referring to him repeatedly as a state of the United States.
Coons was one of the senators who voted against the nomination.
Canada ‘Our most valuable business partner’: Hoekstra
All Republicans present voted to confirm Hoekstra, and the others mainly represent the states that share a Canadian border, including Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and King Angus of Maine, who is an independent who cauca with the Democrats.
Hoekstra in a statement praised Canada as “our most valuable commercial partner, our largest source of foreign investment and our largest source of energy imports.”
“As an ambassador to Canada, I will work with the Canadian government to review and strengthen our solid commercial association, ensure our borders, face the mortal threat of fentanyl to our citizens and build our national security cooperation,” he said.
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Hoekstra, 71, served in Trump’s first mandate as an ambassador to the Netherlands, where his family tracks his origins. He previously served in Congress from 1993 to 2011 for Michigan.
While the appointment has generally been praised, even by business groups, the global project against hatred and extremism previously announced its opposition to the election, criticizing Hoekstra by statements during their political career that, they said, reflected “anti-immigrant, anti-museum and anti-LGBTQ+” opinions.
