Ambassador Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to the US for the last six years, will be resigning in 2026, as the two major North American trading partners plan to review the free trade agreement. While announcing the decision on December 9, the senior diplomat, in a letter, said it is the right time to put in place someone who will oversee talks about the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that is under review in the coming days.
Hailing Hillman, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the official “prepared the foundations for Canada in the upcoming review” of the agreement. She, incidentally, also has been one of the longest-serving ambassadors to the United States in Canada’s history.
Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Hillman in 2017. She, who was the first woman appointed to the role, also helped lead the trade negotiations during Donald Trump’s first presidential term and worked with American and Chinese officials to win the release of two Canadians detained in China.
Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for Canada-US trade, and Hillman had been leading trade talks with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. However, things entered into a rough zone in October 2025, as Donald Trump ended the discussions with Carney after the Ontario provincial government ran an anti-tariff advertisement in the United States, which upset the Republican. That followed a spring of acrimony, since abated, over Donald Trump’s insistence that Canada should become the 51st US state.
When asked in the first week of December about whether trade talks would resume, Donald Trump said, “We will see.”
Canada, one of the most trade-dependent countries in the world, sees 75% of its exports go to the United States, most of which are exempted by the USMCA trade agreement, but that deal is up for review.
Carney aims to double non-US trade over the next decade. About 60% of US crude oil imports come from Canada, as do 85% of American electricity imports. The North American country is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminium and uranium to Uncle Sam. The Pentagon is also interested in the 34 critical minerals and metals found in Canada, thereby aligning with strategic investments.