During Pete Hoekstra’s time as the United States ambassador to Canada, he has criticized Canada’s federal election campaign as “un-American,” shared a post referring to Donald Trump’s “51st state” comment, and reportedly engaged in a profanity-laced outburst towards an Ontario trade official. A petition demanding his expulsion from the country has now amassed close to 200,000 signatures. Matina Stevis-Gridneff, the Canada bureau chief for the New York Times, sheds light on Hoekstra’s background, the reasons behind the Canadian discontent towards him, and the implications of the movement to remove him on the Canada-U.S. relationship.
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