“Matter of fact, I think he would have said ‘If you go to Canada and you’re liked, it probably means that you’re not doing your job.’” Hoekstra pushed back against the notion that he’s not trusted by Canadians by pointing to his close relationship with the business community and Canada’s defense and security sectors, who he says are interested in working with the U.S. And I wouldn’t even try to, because the media made up their mind long before I got here about what they were going to say about a Trump ambassador to Canada.” Hoekstra said he views Canadian media coverage as biased and unfair, adding that he and his wife spent several weeks watching it nightly but then stopped; he no longer considered it news, but “propaganda.” At diplomatic parties, ambassadors clink cocktails and quietly trade gossip about Hoekstra’s cold reception in Ottawa. “At the end of the day,” the provincial official told POLITICO, “anybody trying to reach a deal and resolve a problem needs to understand their opponent.” Hoekstra dropped some pretty clear hints at the March conference where he was extolling Canada as a partner, suggesting that Canadians were free to ignore his messaging, but that it would have consequences.