Trump’s tariffs on Canada may stay, but stronger ties possible: U.S. envoy

U.S. ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra says there are opportunities to secure new economic and security partnerships on the foundation set by Prime Minister Mark Carney.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada may not be “totally removed” under a future trade agreement, the U.S. ambassador says, but the two countries are on the path toward a stronger relationship.

Pete Hoekstra, who serves as Trump’s envoy to Canada, says there are opportunities to secure new economic and security partnerships on the foundation set by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to the White House last week.

“People have talked about a restart or a reset, and I kind of shy away from that,” he told Mercedes Stephenson in an interview that aired Sunday on The West Block.

“Yeah, we had a few rough months and those types of things. But we have strong economic ties, we have strong national security ties, we have personal ties. … There is so much to this foundation. We will be stronger in the future, and watching the prime minister and the president, they both want that same outcome.”

However, Hoekstra said Canada should expect some level of tariffs on its exports under a new trade deal, even a rate lower than the ones it currently faces.

He pointed to the new framework with the United Kingdom announced last week, which kept a 10 per cent baseline U.S. tariff while opening up the British marketplace to more American goods, as “an example of where we will be moving in the future.”

“I’m not sure they’ll be totally removed,” Hoekstra said, referring to Canadian tariffs.

“There’s some tough issues to negotiate and to talk about. But I think both leaders want to get this behind us and again, focus on creating a framework that will build and bring prosperity to both countries, and we’re not exactly sure exactly what the final agreement may look like.”