Here’s what the new U.S. ambassador says about Canada’s sovereignty

It’s not the kind of question frequently asked of an aspiring ambassador, but it needed an answer.

At his U.S. Senate confirmation hearings, Peter Hoekstra, Donald Trump’s nominee as ambassador to Canada, was asked bluntly whether he agreed that Canada is an independent nation and that it “should not be even jokingly referred to as the 51st state.”

“Canada is a sovereign state, yes,” Hoekstra replied.

Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but it’s better than what the U.S. president has been saying recently.

On April 9, the Senate voted 60 to 37 with bipartisan support to confirm Hoekstra’s appointment.

Hoekstra, 71, from Michigan, steps into a hot seat in the middle of the trade war between Canada and the U.S.

“I look forward to beginning my work in Canada and once again serving the people of the United States of America at this important time in the U.S.-Canada relationship,” he said in a statement released by the U.S. Embassy.

He noted he would be able to draw on first-hand experience in dealing with Canada.

“My home state is connected to Canada by four, and soon to be five, bridge crossings along a maritime border, across the Great Lakes, vital lakes that drive businesses, jobs and livelihood in both states,” Hoekstra told the confirmation hearings.

Nevertheless, he did not share any specifics on how he would repair the partnership.

He committed to pursuing Trump’s priority of “freer, fairer trade so that we can actually grow the business relationship.”

Hoekstra succeeds David L. Cohen, a Joe Biden appointment whose term ended in January.

Hoekstra, 71, is a former nine-term congressman, from 1993 to 2011, chairing the House of Representatives intelligence committee. He most recently served as chair of the Michigan Republican Party.

He earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Michigan.

As a congressman, Hoekstra had a conservative voting record and was a founding member of the Tea Party Caucus, consisting of the most conservative members of Congress.

Hoekstra ran for governor unsuccessfully in 2010 and for the U.S. Senate unsuccessfully in 2012.

After leaving Congress, he worked as a lobbyist.

While it’s not been confirmed, U.S. ambassadors have traditionally lived in ‘Lornado’ in Rockcliffe Park.

The house was built in 1908 for Warren Y. Soper, a U.S.-born, Ottawa-based industrialist. Soper was the co-founder of the Ottawa Electric Railway Company — Ottawa’s first public transit system — and the Ottawa Car Company. The home was constructed on the Soper family’s cottage property.

In homage to one of his favourite novels, Lorna Doone, Soper named the property “Lornado”, a name it has kept to this day.

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