Opinion | We have one good reason to thank the infuriating, undiplomatic U.S. ambassador to Canada

I agree with the premise that it's important to have the guy around, as annoying as he is. The biggest danger Canada faces (in the long run) is a return to the status quo. It's important to have this daily reminder of the importance of reducing our dependence on the US, and extricating ourselves from the relationship as much as it is possible. Lots of wealthy Canadians got wealthy because of our ties to the US, and they will be lobbying hard for a return to normal relations. We have to resist this temptation for the long-term protection of our sovereignty, and having people like Hoekstra around to remind Canadians who these guys really are is important.

Hoekstra is painful to listen too - his arrogance is bad for the blood pressure - but I agree with the point being made that he reminds us of what Trump thinks. It is good for Canadians to be reminded that the Americans do not see us as a viable country so we can remain focused on the hardwork of rebuilding our economy to focus less on the United States and diversify it. We will never be completly divorced from the U.S. (unfortunately) but we can be less connected if we keep up our resolve.

Ambassador Hoekstra is bringing necessary and blunt talk from the administration he represents. The United States has indulged Canadian whining for decades while propping up our economy and subsidizing continental defense. Those days appear to be over. We are going to have to pay our dues in NATO and pay for our access to the world's most important and most valuable market. Canadian politicians have mismanaged the trading and economic relationship for decades in a cynical "elbows up" political game of what they believe (wrongly) is populist anti-Americanism. Most Canadians love the United States, its vibrancy, weather, culture and people. Most Canadians understand that our prosperity is and always will be tied directly to the United States. We depend on the U.S. almost entirely for our standard of living. We can't afford (literally) to antagonize the American administration and Congress.

I agree that it's better to hear from Hoekstra what Trump wants rather than getting a mixed message couched in diplomatese. But I also think that Hoekstra needs to hear and relays to Washington that Canadians strongly disagree with the US vision of Canada as a vassal state or the 51st state.

In some ways, Hoekstra's comments are satire. Unwitting, and directed against himself. As such, they provide some amusement, and we all need some amusement these days.

But since Hoekstra is a real person, not a fictional one, and Phillips is quite right to emphasize that he is " making us come to terms with the true face of Trumpism."