His Excellency Pete Hoekstra: Diplomat or Disrupter?

His Excellency Pete Hoekstra, as an Ambassador is addressed, recently rode into Ottawa as the United States' head of mission.

Being named Ambassador is a big deal. It's a plum position whether the nominee is a career diplomat or political appointee—as is the case with the former Republican member of the House of Representatives. Ambassador Hoekstra is just now settling into his spacious official residence located in prestigious Rockcliffe Park, a stone's throw away from the residences of the Governor General and Prime Minister.

I can relate to this experience since my father, Lucien Lamoureux—former Speaker of the House of Commons—was named Ambassador to Belgium by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau after my father retired from politics in 1974. This gives me a unique insight in what is happening in Canada today especially with the recent nomination of an American politician cum diplomat to Ottawa.

Diplomacy is a unique world, combining tradition, prestige and daily hobnobbing, as a pleasant way to foster relations, while representing the home country's interests. Being an effective diplomat requires many qualities in addition to enjoying social events and small talk. A good ambassador needs to be culturally sensitive, adaptable and possess strong negotiation skills, among other assets. It also helps to be charming and witty.

Being skilled and pleasant is not enough, though. Ambassadors must also uphold the principles of international law, like the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations: its principles are designed to encourage friendly interactions and ensure that relations can occur without coercion or harassment by either state. Respecting these principles builds trust between countries.

Our Canadian Ambassador to the United States, Her Excellency Kirsten Hillman, has been advocating for Canada's interests since 2020. As a 30-year government public servant and lawyer, she has held various diplomatic, policy and legal positions and, today, is recognized as one of the most successful and powerful women in Washington. A model diplomat, she has skillfully and respectfully represented Canadian priorities over the years, and is managing the current challenging environment with aplomb and serious expertise.

For his part, His Excellency Hoekstra is a long-standing politician with some prior diplomatic experience from his first posting in the Netherlands. He is certainly aware that the trust between Canada and the United States has been crushed since his boss, Mr. Trump, won the election in November. This begs the question: Can we trust His Excellency Hoekstra to be a model diplomat during his tenure in Canada? Can he help rebuild the broken trust?

In answering those questions, we can take a look at the Ambassador's track record. There are red flags raised by many Canadians regarding his extremism.

With regards to his diplomatic experience, he got into well-documented hot water for unfounded anti-Muslim comments while Ambassador to the Netherlands—his birthplace—during Donald Trump's first term. He was also accused of interfering in Dutch politics, even hosting a fundraiser for an extremist group. Surely the State Department would have told him that this violated international law. Yet, he went ahead with the event.

His voting record as a Republican representative from Michigan is also problematic. Hoekstra's far-right views appear to be at odds with those of most Canadians. He opposes gun control, was a founding member of the Tea Party Caucus in 2010, is listed as a "contributor" to Project 25, has opposed union reform, pushed for the unnecessary war in Iraq and lied about Iranian nuclear capability. His views on multiculturalism are the antithesis of those espoused in Canada.

That track record happens to align with Mr. Trump's approach, values and priorities. We must wonder then, the extent to which Mr. Ambassador Hoekstra will respect Canada's values and way of life during his tenure here. Is his mandate to disrupt our way of life?

During his recent confirmation hearing in March, Mr. Hoekstra acknowledged that Canada is a sovereign state and that he wants to strengthen the relationship between the two countries. During one of his first interviews in Canada, Mr. Ambassador mentioned that the annexation saga is "over"—an assertion that the President contradicted in days.

In the same interview, he took a swipe at Mr. Carney, adding that our Prime Minister did not need King Charles III to read the Speech from the Throne to assert Canada's sovereignty. Meddling already?

Does His Excellency really believe that the tiff is over and that the relationship is back to normal, notwithstanding the ongoing threats and tariffs? Clearly, he has not heard this quote by American entrepreneur and film producer Dhar Mann: "Trust takes years to build, seconds to break, and forever to repair."

Adding to these concerns are the recent incendiary lies by Kash Patel, Trump's Director of the FBI, saying suspected terrorists are flooding into the U.S. through the northern border with Canada. Will His Excellency correct this classic MAGA disinformation?

During a CTV interview last Friday, Ambassador Hoekstra tried to reassure Canadians who "fear” entering the USA, making us believe that we are imagining the threats we face at the Canada-US border. “Searching devices and all of that is not a well-founded fear. We don’t do that. America is a welcoming place,” he said. While it is his job to promote his country, it will take more than that type of whitewashing to convince the majority of Canadians who—according to a Leger Marketing survey in May—find that “it is no longer safe for all Canadians travelling to the United States.”

He went on to say that some Americans did not feel welcome at the border when crossing into Canada. Ever heard of false equivalencies, sir?

The jury is still out on whether Canada can truly trust His Excellency to repair the Canada – US divide given his close ties to Mr. Trump. Will he continue to recognize our sovereignty? Will Ambassador Hoekstra respect our more liberal values, notwithstanding his far-right views? Will he convince American Border Services to change their ways when Canadians show up at the border? Will he espouse the excellent diplomatic skills of Ambassador Hillman—the ones which merited her the King Charles III Coronation Medal for her outstanding contributions to Canada?

Or, will he use clandestine means to advance his strategic interests at the expense of Canada's? Will he attempt to covertly influence decisions or outcomes to better suit his strategic interest, thus disregarding the Vienna Convention?

There is no question that we need to keep a close eye on what the new Ambassador says and does. Actions speak louder than words. The jury is still out as to which Excellency is enjoying the fancy official residence in Rockcliffe—the diplomat or the disrupter.

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Sylvie Lamoureux is one of the founders of Postcards from Canada.