Protesters offer less-than-Friendly Manitoba welcome to U.S. ambassador to Canada
Waving signs and chanting slogans, the crowd — which grew to nearly 100 — slammed American foreign policy, accusing Ambassador Pete Hoekstra of representing an administration that promotes division and undermines global co-operation.
Canada and the U.S. have been involved in contentious trade talks for months, and another of President Donald Trump's deadlines for imposing additional punishing tariffs on Canadian imports is quickly approaching on Thursday.
Some demonstrators also took aim at the chamber itself for offering Hoekstra a platform during a politically fraught time, while others turned their criticism toward Prime Minister Mark Carney.
'Carney, Carney, you can't hide, we know you are on Trump's side!' some in the crowd shouted.
The rally began with about 50 people just before noon outside the WAG on Memorial Boulevard, then shifted around the corner to St. Mary Avenue. There, protesters greeted arriving luncheon guests with chants, boos and pointed signage.
'We're here saying we need an independent foreign policy, we can't follow the U.S.,' said Sarah Brobridge, who was with the Winnipeg Coalition for Peace and Sovereignty.
'We can't follow them into the murderous, genocidal wars they're dragging us into. We're standing against the five per cent (of GDP contribution to NATO's) budget, which is going to rip away from social needs, housing and health care — everything that people need here (in Canada). And we're standing up against the U.S.'s decline into fascism.'
The group also questioned the chamber's choice of speaker, arguing it should reflect on why it invited someone whose 'avowed purposes include making Canada an appendage of the U.S. war machine and to make Canada the 51st state.'
The Free Press has requested comment from the chamber.
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Protesters also called out Premier Wab Kinew and Mayor Scott Gillingham, demanding answers for what they called 'silence' and a lack of criticism over Hoekstra's visit.
'I am opposed to American imperialism anywhere, and the fascist trends going on there and the threat that poses to Canada and the rest of the world,' said Ann LeTouche, who held a sign that said, 'Tariff this, sphincter face,' and another that read, 'Justifying mass murder is psychopathy.'
LeTouche also critiqued the rally's focus, noting that some of the messaging veered off topic.
'We need to focus on the fact that this is a visit of an ambassador for a country that's threatened to invade us,' she said.
scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca
Scott BilleckReporter
Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade's worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024. Read more about Scott.
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