Punt Pete

By end of day (especially if you pile on) that petition to throw the US ambassador out of our fair Dominion will have 200,000 signatures. My name is at 194,173.

Pete Hoekstra is a piece of work. A Trump guy, obviously. Sent here to do mischief, destabilize Canada in whatever way he can and further the White House agenda of economic hobbling leading to our annexation.

Hoekstra, 72, is a long-rime Republican who led that party in Michigan, sat in the legislature for 16 years and had a career as a furniture guy. His family emigrated from Holland when he was a baby Republican, ironically from a region Canadians troops liberated after WW2. Before being appointed to irritate us, he was Trump’s face in the Netherlands, where he courted far-right politicians.

So a woman in Calgary started an anti-Pete petition which Greenie Liz May says she will table in Parliament when the gang gets back. The odds of the Carney government expelling Hoekstra are negligible, since that would be taken by Trump as justification to send in Seal Team 6. But that doesn’t mean that we, citizens, cannot organize a large dump on the guy.

With serious 50% insane new tariffs hanging over us this week, supporting this petition is something. Small, maybe, but still something.

What did he do besides endlessly promoting and defending the man who called us all ‘nasty’?

Lots.

He has refused to suck back Trump’s ‘51st state’ annexation threats, saying he does not understand why they trouble Canadians. Apparently he does not understand sovereignty.

Or maybe he does, since he’s also refused to explain or apologize for US State Department officials meeting with the Alberta secessionist yahoos. In fact, Hoekstra has ties to a Michigan-based online platform used by the western traitors for voter ID.

The interference with Canadian politics does not end there. He invited trucker, Freedom Convoy leader, anti-vaccine activist and convicted offender Tamara Lich to his home for a July 4th celebration, despite the fact he knew she was under house arrest.

Hoekstra attempted to influence last year’s federal election campaign, calling Mark Carney an ‘anti-American’. And he has kept the rhetoric up, attacking Ottawa for defending domestic industries with retaliatory tariffs in a trade war his boss started – and is making more extreme.

This is why Petititon e-7531 is gaining traction. Oops, it just his 195,585.

As for the tariffs threatened for Wednesday, most people think they will be delayed in a classic TACO move. They are, of course, irrational, destructive, dangerous and costly to everyone. Here is the way Bay Street economist Derek Holt puts it:

“Either Trump extends the deadline, or an interim agreement is struck. It’s unclear which scenario will prevail, but we maintain cautious optimism. Why? Because going ahead with tariffs would exact a toll on both sides.

“The US administration would inflame tensions with a major trading partner and further harm how US voters view its foreign and affordability policies ahead of the November 7th midterms. The tariffs would likely invite retaliation that should be delivered in my view. Most economists would argue that retaliation only imposes further pain. Done properly in highly targeted fashion against politically influential areas of the US economy it can be the only language understood by the US administration.”

As Holt rightly points out, this new round of tariffs (supported by Hoekstra) is beyond irrational – it would (for example) collapse the honey trade in western Canada and the specialty textile business in Quebec, both of which threaten zero Americans. Before Trump started this nonsense the tariff rate between Canada and the US was the same, regulations were harmonized, trade was seamless and growing and we had a history of subsidizing industries far less than does America.

“Canada should be prepared to walk,” says Holt.

You betcha. But first we moon Pete.

195,594.

About the picture: “Looking for more dog pics for your blog I understand….” writes Robin on Vancouver Island. “Here’s Lola on a recent fishing trip, waiting patiently to go in the boat. Thanks for continuing your informative,  humorous, daily blog despite the challenges you encounter. I hope you are healing well and enjoying the summer.”

To be in rtouch or send a picture of your beast, email to ‘[email protected]’.

Source: https://www.greaterfool.ca/2026/08/16/punt-pete/