A tale of two U.S. ambassadors: Hoekstra and Heyman see Canada very differently

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A former U.S. ambassador to Canada is taking a strikingly different approach to cross-border relations than the current diplomat in office, as the trade war between the two countries continues to escalate.

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Bruce Heyman, who served as ambassador to Canada under U.S. president Barack Obama between 2014 and 2017, has been increasingly vocal in his support for Canada. In contrast, current U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra has offended some Canadians to the point that a parliamentary petition calling for his removal has gathered more than 260,000 signatures.

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Both Midwesterners, Heyman grew up in Ohio and served as a managing director of private wealth management at Goldman Sachs before Obama appointed him as U.S. ambassador to Canada. Hoekstra spent most of his childhood in Michigan and is a long-serving Republican, first as a member of Congress representing Michigan’s 2nd District from 1993 to 2011.

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Ohio and Michigan are among the states most affected by the Canada-U.S. trade war. Last year, 38 per cent of all exports from Michigan and 32 per cent from Ohio went to Canada, according to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA), with motor vehicles and parts both states’ top northbound exports.

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In a series of recent posts on X, Heyman has been emphatic in his support for Canada, writing “never underestimate a Canadian,” “this American is proudly pro-Canadian,” and “love you, Canada.”

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He also shared a photo of himself wearing a hat with “Lake Ontario” stitched on the front, after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to rename the body of water “Lake America,” and on Wednesday claimed that he’d previously been told by senior U.S. military officers that “if they were ever stuck in a foxhole under fire and they couldn’t have an American at their side they would undoubtedly want a Canadian.”

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Since leaving the role of U.S. ambassador to Canada in 2017, Heyman co-founded the company Uncharted with his wife, Vicki Heyman, which connects Canadians and Americans to create a positive impact across the Canada-U.S. relationship, political engagement and philanthropy.

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Heyman’s vocal support for Canada is likely good for his business. But regardless of the motivation, his public posture stands in stark contrast to that of Hoekstra, who took on the role of U.S. ambassador to Canada in April 2025.