Kirsten Hillman, who has served as Canada’s envoy in Washington for six years, announced on Tuesday that she will step down next year as the two countries gear up to review their free‑trade arrangement. In a letter, she said this was the appropriate moment to appoint someone new to steer the 2026 review of the United States‑Mexico‑Canada Agreement. Prime Minister Mark Carney praised Hillman for laying the groundwork for Canada’s role in the upcoming analysis, adding that she ranks among the longest‑serving ambassadors to the United States in Canadian history. Hillman was named to the post by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2017 and was the first woman to hold the position.
During her tenure, she guided trade negotiations under President Trump’s first term and worked with U.S. and Chinese officials to secure the release of two Canadian citizens detained in China. Together with Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Hillman had led talks with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra recently posted on social media that Hillman has been an “awesome and well‑respected” contributor to the Canada‑U.S. relationship, adding that he values their friendship and wishes her all the best in her next adventure, noting that she will be missed.
Earlier disputes over trade were sparked when the Ontario government ran an anti‑tariff advertisement in the U.S., provoking President Trump, who ended talks with Canada in October. He later described the disagreement over Canada “becoming the 51st U.S. state” as a flare‑up that has since subsided. Asked this week when trade discussions would resume, Trump kept his answer vague, saying “we’ll see.” Canada’s economy is heavily tied to U.S. trade, with over 75 % of its exports headed there; most of those are protected by USMCA, which is now up for renewal.
Carney has set a goal of doubling Canada’s trade with countries outside the United States over the next decade. The U.S. imports about 60 % of its crude oil and 85 % of its electricity from Canada, and Canada remains the largest foreign source of steel, aluminum and uranium for the U.S. Government also seeks 34 critical minerals from Canadian deposits that the Pentagon considers vital for national security.
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