Pete Hoekstra tells Toronto summit that America has significant needs — and Canada should move to fill them
A day after U.S. President Donald Trump declared his country has no need for anything Canada produces, his ambassador to Ottawa delivered a markedly different message: America needs a great deal from the world, and Canada is well-positioned to provide it.
Speaking at the Eurasia Group summit in Toronto on Thursday, U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra told attendees that if Canada approaches upcoming trade negotiations with confidence, it can build a compelling case for deepening the partnership, according to the CBC.
Hoekstra pointed to the auto sector as a prime example of the two countries' interdependence. With similar labour forces, comparable pay scales, and shared environmental standards, he described the North American automotive industry as a "thoroughly integrated ecosystem" — and argued that if any foreign-made vehicle is going to enter the American market, Canada is the logical source.
The ambassador also suggested Canada could make a strong pitch around energy and agriculture, telling the audience that the country has a persuasive argument for why the U.S. should source its oil and potash for fertilizer from its northern neighbour, according to the CBC.
‘We’re open to offers’
Hoekstra offered an interpretive gloss on Trump's remarks from the previous day, framing the president's blunt language as a negotiating posture rather than a rejection.
"You maybe don't like the way the president says it," he said, according to the CBC, "but … what he's saying is, 'We're open to offers, make your case.'"
His comments come roughly two weeks after Prime Minister Mark Carney made a parallel argument to U.S. business leaders in New York, contending that a more self-sufficient Canada could help "make America great again." When asked about Hoekstra's remarks at a separate news conference Thursday, Carney said he is engaged with Trump on "some good offers," says the CBC, adding that the government's focus is on reaching a deal that serves Canadians.
Canada's Ambassador to the U.S., Mark Wiseman, who followed Hoekstra on stage, said the message appeared to be landing. Getting that argument heard across the border, he noted, has historically been a challenge — not because the case is weak, but because the United States is a "very noisy" environment with a "complex political environment," according to the CBC, making it harder for Canadians to convey how much the U.S. economy depends on the relationship.
Hoekstra closed on a lighter note, suggesting that a more prosperous Canada would benefit the U.S. too — and that some of that prosperity might flow south in the form of tourism and bourbon sales, according to the CBC.
