More than 100,000 people had signed a Canadian parliamentary petition by Aug. 14 calling for U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra to be declared persona non grata and for the government to request his removal from Canada, according to ABC News, CBC News and BBC News. The petition is a request for government action; it does not itself remove an ambassador.
The campaign drew national and international attention as the reported total moved from tens of thousands of signatures to more than 100,000 while the petition remained open.
The official House of Commons petition is identified as e-7531. It was initiated by Leanne Walker of Calgary, Alberta, and is sponsored by Green Party MP Elizabeth May of Saanich-Gulf Islands.
What the official petition asks Canada to do
The petition calls on the Government of Canada to take three steps:
• Formally declare Pete Hoekstra persona non grata and request his removal as U.S. ambassador to Canada.
• Raise with the United States what the petition describes as a pattern of conduct inconsistent with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
• Direct a parliamentary committee to review alleged U.S. diplomatic interference in Canadian domestic affairs.
Those claims are the petitioners’ allegations and requests. The petition page does not establish that Hoekstra violated international law or diplomatic rules, and the signature total does not amount to a Canadian government finding.
Who launched the petition and when does it close?
The official page says the petition opened for signatures on July 21, 2026, at 3:41 p.m. EDT and is scheduled to close on Nov. 18, 2026, at 3:41 p.m. EDT. Only validated signatures count toward the House of Commons total.
Walker discussed the response with CBC News, which reported on the campaign after its signature count rose sharply. May provides the parliamentary sponsorship required for the e-petition.
Because the count can change while the petition remains open, the most precise description is time-stamped: ABC News, CBC News and BBC News reported that it had passed 100,000 signatures by Aug. 14.
Why petitioners are criticizing Hoekstra
The official petition cites several public statements and political disputes. It says Hoekstra characterized Canada’s 2025 federal election as “anti-American” and describes his handling of President Donald Trump’s references to Canada becoming the 51st U.S. state as part of its case.
The petition also says Hoekstra described the 51st-state rhetoric as a “term of endearment” and accuses him of intervening in Canadian political discussion while criticizing Canadian involvement in U.S. politics. These points are included as the petition’s stated reasons for seeking his removal, not as independently proven conclusions.
BBC News reported on the criticism surrounding Hoekstra’s public comments and the campaign seeking his removal. Hoekstra has said his role is to represent the U.S. president and the administration’s positions.
What the petition can and cannot do
Declaring a diplomat persona non grata is a government decision. The term is used when a host country formally says that a foreign diplomatic representative is no longer acceptable. The petition asks Ottawa to take that step and to request Hoekstra’s removal, but it does not create that result automatically.
The supplied reports did not say that Canada had declared Hoekstra persona non grata or ordered him to leave. They reported a growing parliamentary petition and the political argument surrounding its demands.
The petition remains open until its listed closing date. After the signature period, its parliamentary sponsor can present it in the House of Commons through the established petition process. A government response would not require the government to accept the requested action or adopt the petitioners’ allegations as official findings.
The formal outcome therefore remains separate from the signature count. The confirmed development is that the petition passed the reported 100,000-signature mark by Aug. 14 while continuing to ask the Canadian government to declare Hoekstra persona non grata and seek his removal.
Updated: September 10, 2026
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