Petitions in Canada don't usually target foreign diplomats—but this one does. More than 106,000 people and counting have backed an online call for the removal of US Ambassador Pete Hoekstra, reports the BBC, accusing him of "making repeated interventions in Canadian political discourse" and echoing talk of Canada becoming America's "51st state." The petition, launched by Calgary resident Lee Walker, says Hoekstra has repeatedly injected Trump administration rhetoric into Canadian debates and asks that a parliamentary committee investigate alleged US interference. "It's beyond what I expected out of this," she tells the CBC. "It tells me that it's not a fringe issue, and that a lot of Canadians are uncomfortable with how Hoekstra has been repeating Trump talking points about our sovereignty and Canada as a whole."
Hoekstra, a Republican ally of President Trump, has drawn criticism for posts amplifying annexation chatter, hosting a Freedom Convoy figure at his July 4 event, and blasting what he calls "anti-American" rhetoric and provincial boycotts of US alcohol. The petition—sponsored in Parliament by Green Party leader Elizabeth May as a procedural duty that will be presented in the fall—has vastly cleared the 500-signature threshold requiring a government response, as Ottawa races to head off steep new US tariffs set to take effect on Wednesday. Nevertheless, "This sort of conduct from a sitting ambassador isn't something we'll just shrug off," says Walker.
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