The U.S. ambassador to Canada warned businesspeople and political leaders inside a Winnipeg auditorium Tuesday not to “bet against America” as group of demonstrators outside the venue protested his presence in the Manitoba capital.
Days before a deadline to assemble a cross-border trade deal, U.S. ambassador Pete Hoekstra suggested Canada does not want to run the risk of missing out on economic opportunities provided by its neighbour to the south as it seeks to diversify its export markets.
“Right now, I wouldn’t bet against America. I wouldn’t bet against Canada, either,” Hoekstra said during an address to approximately 200 people at a Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce gathering at the Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq’s soft-seat theatre.
The ambassador then issued a subtle warning in the form of a dry joke.
“I know that the EU and Japan just really want to buy the cars that you make in Ontario,” Hoekstra said.
“I think there are certain things that absolutely Canada is positioned to open up global markets and you should take advantage of those, absolutely,” he continued. “There are other markets where you’re tied so closely to the U.S. that that may be a confining factor for you.”
Hoekstra, who was appointed an ambassador to Canada four months ago by U.S. President Donald Trump, made his comments while senior Canadian and U.S. trade officials are attempting to complete a trade deal in advance of an Aug. 1 deadline.
Trump has suggested Canada could end up with tariffs instead of a trade deal. Earlier this month, he told Prime Minister Mark Carney the U.S. may apply a 35 per cent tariff on Canadian goods that don’t comply with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, or CUSMA, up from 25 per cent right now.
Separately, Canadian steel and aluminum face a 50 per cent tariff that the U.S. has imposed on all countries, while the U.S. tariff on Canadian energy and potash is set at 10 per cent. Trump has also slapped a 25 per cent tariff on non-U.S. content of automobile imports and threatened to impose levies on pharmaceuticals, lumber and copper.
Despite these existing and potential tariffs, Hoekstra told his Winnipeg audience that the fabric trying the Canada and U.S. together remains strong, even as it has changed.
“Let that fabric stretch, let it take a slightly different shape, but don’t do anything to break it,” he implored, referring to the cross-border relationship. “There’s no reason why it can’t continue to be the envy of the world.”
During a question-and-answer session with Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce president Loren Remillard, Hoekstra declined to reveal the status of existing trade negotiations between Canada and the U.S.
“I’m not sitting in the room and if I were, I probably wouldn’t be answering that question,” he said. The ambassador also deflected a question about the pending CUSMA renegotiations.
Winnipeg South Liberal MP Ben Carr, who chairs the House of Commons industry committee, said he was not surprised by the absence of candour from the U.S. ambassador about trade negotiations.
“These things have to take place, as they should, between our senior officials who have a deep understanding about what’s going on,” Carr said following the speech.
A senior executive with a major Winnipeg manufacturer said the ambassador was more candid during a meeting with about 20 business leaders and politicians prior to the speech.
Winpak vice-president Randy Zasitko, whose packaging company exports about 80 per cent of its products to the United States, said Hoekstra suggested Canada may end up with a trade deal similar one signed recently with European Union — and one the U.S. contends it has reached with Japan.
“From his perspective, he says there is no reason why when you look at the agreements that have been achieved at the 10 and 15 per cent [tariff rate], there’s no reason Canada can’t be even lower than that,” Zasitko said. “Now, he didn’t promise that by any means.”
Despite the U.S. tariffs and the renegotiations of North American trade agreements, Hoekstra said a continent-wide free trade zone remains a possibility.
He said the Trump administration sees no connection between the application of tariffs and rising U.S. inflation. He also praised administration policies such as increased border enforcement and insisted the president means what he says.
“If you want to know where Donald Trump is going, listen to him,” Hoekstra said.
Outside the art gallery, several dozen protesters held up signs decrying U.S. support for the Israeli war on Gaza, U.S. efforts to isolate Cuba, U.S. policies limiting transgender rights and the U.S. insistence on increased military spending by NATO members, among other issues.
“We just want to let him know that he’s not welcome here,” said Sarah Borbridge, a member of Peace Alliance Winnipeg, referring to the U.S. ambassador. “We don’t want representatives of U.S imperialism and we also see the U.S. as descending into fascism.”
U.S. trade policy was also a focus for the demonstration. One sign read “tariff this, sphincter face.”
