New U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra is downplaying the effect of tariffs on the auto industry.

The former Congressman and ex-chair of the Michigan GOP was confirmed to the ambassadorship in early April. 

In an interview with WDET during the 2025 Mackinac Policy Conference, Hoekstra said the economy is strong, and that worries about tariffs and a trade war with Canada are overblown.

“They’re not going to have a dramatic impact, OK?” Hoekstra said. “They will have an impact, but it’s not fundamentally going to change this relationship.”

Hoekstra said he thinks there will be a full re-working of the trade agreement between the U.S. and Canada within the next couple years.

He also dismissed concerns about President Donald Trump’s desire to make Canada the 51st state, calling the threat a “sign of affection” — something that has been outright rejected by Canadian leadership and its populace.

“Why they’re offended by such a generous offer, I’m not sure, but they are,” he said. “We have to deal with it, and we will.”

Car trips from Canada into the U.S. have dropped by nearly a third since Trump started the 51st state rhetoric. According to a recent poll from the Association for Canada Studies & Metropolis Institute, a majority of Canadians said it’s no longer safe for them to travel in the U.S.

Still, Michigan is consistently a top destination for Canadians for business and leisure travel, and with the newly constructed Gordie Howe International Bridge set to open by the end of the year, Hoekstra says he expects the relationship between the two countries to improve.

“Canada is our second largest trading partner, 70-80% of what they export comes south. That’s not going to go away,” he said. “If anything, we’ve got a president that is energizing the American economy. We have a prime minister in Canada that wants to try to do the same thing in Canada. And when they’re both successful, we’re going to have an energized North America.”

–WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.