Kirsten Hillman is leaving Washington. Here’s what he learned about Trump’s America
If you ask Canadian Ambassador to the US Kirsten Hillman how to get Trump-era Republicans on Canada’s side, she’ll tell you the story of a stuffed buffalo head.
Hillman first came to Washington as a deputy ambassador in 2017. He says at that time, Canada was trying to enter with new republican senators. He soon met one of the dogs, but there weren’t many things the two could agree on.
“His views are very different from mine, from a woman’s right to choose, to gun laws, in every country,” Hillman said. “But I was thinking ‘OK, I have to contact this woman. This is important to Canada, and it’s important to my job.’
When Hillman walked into the parliamentarian’s office (he didn’t name her), there was a buffalo head on the wall – which coincided with the official symbol of his home province, Manitoba. Hillman saw an opportunity to connect.
“I started to tell him about that and then I started to tell him about the program we had in Canada to replenish the large number of American bison, because we had bison species in Alberta especially that were becoming extinct in the United States.”
“So I had my buffalo facts,” Hillman said.
Canada’s ambassador to the US, Kirstin Hillman, has announced that she will be stepping down in the new year. Hillman was adamant that the decision was his and the prime minister knew in advance.
What started as a discussion about buffalo later turned to Canada’s trade with the US. Hillman said the senator promised to be Canada’s voice during US President Donald Trump’s first term, and the two have been in contact.
“There’s a certain level of personality you have to bring,” Hillman said. “You have to try and find some kind of connection, and you have to know your stuff.”
Since then, Canada’s relationship with the United States has changed dramatically. Tariffs continue to hurt the Canadian economy, and seven months ago Trump was threatening Canadian sovereignty.
Hillman has been on the ground in Washington throughout this transition. But soon, he will leave his post as Canada prepares to revise the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) in the new year.
In an exit interview with CBC The house broadcast Saturday morning, Hillman was asked by host Catherine Cullen if there is anything he now understands about Trump’s America that he wants to share with Canadians.
Hillman said the United States is a big, diverse country and it’s important for Canada to have understanding and empathy for everyday Americans.
“There are many pockets [the United States] where people are not doing well,” he said. “They have difficulty making a living. . . . They don’t know what the future holds for their children.”
“That is very important for any political leader to understand and try to communicate.”
Hillman also said that Democrats and Republicans are very patriotic, and the people of the United States “truly believe that they live in the best country in the world and that it’s not perfect, but they work on it.”
“We often hear that. But understanding what that means to people helps you understand why the idea of ’America First’ resonates so much here because first, Americans are proud to be Americans,” he said.
Is Canada developing in trade?
Canada is still facing wide range of US prices affecting key industries, including steel, aluminum and timber. And there could be more trouble as the US sets out its demands to extend CUSMA.
Despite those challenges, Hillman said “today is better, in my estimation, than where we were 12 months ago.”
Hillman said Trump’s initial tariffs on Canada have a carveout of goods covered by CUSMA, though he added that he is not discounting the damaging effects of the president’s tariffs.
US President Donald Trump’s top trade adviser Jamieson Greer says the administration is considering scrapping a three-way free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, moving to separate deals instead.
Also, American officials and business leaders have been traveling up north in recent months, “and what they are trying to do is give a different message to Canadians on the Canada-US relationship and how they value it.”
Last week, Hillman also went to a closed meeting on Capitol Hill no House Ways and Means Committeewith congressional oversight of trade taxes.
He told Cullen that all American lawmakers on that committee said they support stable trade with Canada, believe there should be a strong trade relationship between the two countries and support the continuation of CUSMA.
“They treat us as friends and important friends, not only in the trade but in the world. People may not hear that every day but I feel it’s important,” said Hillman.
In a year end interview and CBCs Rosemary Barton Live broadcast on Sunday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said that Trump has not given any indication that he intends to withdraw from CUSMA.
Prime Minister Mark Carney sat down for a year-end interview with CBC News political reporter Rosemary Barton, where he laid out his expectations for the CUSMA review next year.
Canadian officials had hoped to find a deal on some of Trump’s tariffs earlier this year, but the president cut off talks after the Ontario government. broadcast an advertisement against the tax during the World Series.
Last week, Canada-US Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the door is always open for the Americans to resume trade talks, but the next time for direct trade engagement will likely be when CUSMA begins its review process next month.
A Conservative MP offers to help
In an interview last week with CBC News, Conservative MP Jamil Jivani, a longtime friend of US Vice President JD Vance, said he was ready to lend a hand if Carney called him.
“I really believe I can help,” he said. “I’d like to be able to talk to JD about how we can make things better for our economy, but I don’t want to get involved in what Mark Carney is up to, unless he tells me it’s good for him.”
When asked about Jivani’s contribution, Hillman said all Canadians can be helpful and “I think trying to sing on one song sheet is always powerful for us.”
Conservative MP Jamil Jivani says if his party were in power, he would use his friendship with US Vice President JD Vance to ‘try to resolve some of this trade dispute.’ But he says he is ready to help the Liberal government if Prime Minister Mark Carney asks.
That said, Hillman noted that “negotiations are being conducted with a very small group of people, and Vice President Vance is not at the negotiating table.”
“It is clear that the prime minister and others will decide how they want to continue the communication they have throughout the country,” he said. “But I think there are different ways people can contribute and that sitting at the table is not the only way.”
Jivani said he has offered help in the past, but he does not want to “inject” himself into the negotiations — he said the “Doug Ford trade debate” is an example of what happens when there is no coordinated strategy.
Next up for Hillman
As his ambassadorship comes to an end, Hillman said he feels mixed emotions. There is joy in coming home and spending more time with his family, but sadness in “leaving such an all-encompassing job.”
“I live and breathe this job. Every day, every day, every day. I think about Canada-US relations all day, every day,” said Hillman.
He said there may be a “down time” as he exits the role, but he’s looking forward to what’s next in his life.
On his final reflection, Hillman said “it’s hard to express how much of a privilege that is [and] what a burden it is. It made me love my country more, because every day my job is to protect its interests or express its values or communicate.”
“I’ll probably be out promoting Canada across Canada,” he said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I don’t know how I’m going to get out of this situation that I’ve been through.”
