JamzNG Latest News, Gist, Entertainment in Nigeria
This story is the second of a two-part feature interview with U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra. Also read: The US Ambassador denies contributing to delaying the opening of the Gordie Howe Bridge
US Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra said the Trump administration has not met with Alberta separatist groups, or discussed potential financial support for Alberta independence, which directly contradicts claims made by prominent separatist groups.
“No, we did not meet with separatist groups and strategize at all,” Hoekstra told Global News.
A report in Financial Timesciting sources familiar with the talks, said leaders of the Alberta Prosperity Project met three times with U.S. State Department officials in Washington since April.
Jeffery Rath, leader of the Alberta Prosperity Project, the group spearheading the separatist movement, has publicly stated that his organization has met with American officials. This included meetings with US Treasury officials to discuss a potential US$500 billion credit line for independent Alberta.
Hoekstra rejected the separatists’ claims and said “separatists can say whatever they want.”
Get daily National news
Get Canada’s daily news stories delivered to your inbox so you never miss the day’s top stories.
When asked if there had been any talk of a potential credit line with separatist groups, Hoekstra said “no, I’m not aware of that.”
When asked whether the Trump administration wanted Alberta to remain part of Canada, Hoekstra did not give a definite answer.
“That’s the president’s call,” he said. “I think at this point, we’ve made it clear that we’re not going to take a position on that. That’s a decision that has to be made by the people of Alberta, the province of Alberta and the federal government.”
This position offers a marked difference from the previous administration.
During the Quebec referendum campaign in February 1995, then US President Bill Clinton called for a united Canada.
“Canada has been an example to all of us of how people from different cultures can live and work together in peace, prosperity and respect,” Clinton said in a speech in the House of Commons.
Hoekstra anticipates the Trump administration will not get involved in the referendum this fall.
““I’m not going to get direction, I’m not sure, from the President of the United States, from our Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, saying, ‘Pete, go out there and do what you can to advocate for, secession or for the people of Alberta to vote to remain part of the Confederacy,'” Hoekstra told Global News.
Although the ambassador claims not to be involved in Alberta politics, several premiers criticized Finance Minister Scott Bessent after he said in January that Alberta was a “natural partner for the US.”
“Albertans are a very independent people,” Bessent said on the Real America’s Voice podcast. “They want what the US has.”
Hoekstra dismissed Bessent’s comments, saying, “Canadians are upset about a number of things.
“There are many examples of Canadian politicians saying things about American politics or American policy and things that I don’t like,” he said. “I don’t focus on them.”
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
