The U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra held the embassy’s annual 4th of July party on Saturday at his official residence in Ottawa — and his guest list included Freedom Convoy organizer Tamara Lich as well as a who’s who (no really, who?) of the worst so-called media in Canada.
The party is generally a pretty well-attended affair in Ottawa, as far as Parliament Hill-related events go. I once attended years ago (for work, not pleasure) as I produced live TV hits for CTV host Don Martin from the party’s grounds.
If memory serves, it’s not necessarily the easiest invite to secure — unlike so many Ottawa events, where underpaid political staff and journalists fill rooms so they can swarm the tables of free food and save a bit of money on groceries.
This year, however, Hoekstra reportedly had a tough time getting big names to agree to attend his bash. RSVPs had been “less forthcoming” for the party this year, according to the Hill Times, and Politico also noted that many ambassadors decided to skip the soiree.
Still, it appears the U.S. Ambassador knew where to look to find enthusiastic guests in this year’s political climate: right-wing “media personalities.”
Okay, but wait one second — what about the more “normal” attendees?
Before we get into this, a caveat: many journalists and politicians feel it’s an important part of their job to go to these kinds of events.
I was a journalist in the Parliamentary Press Gallery for more than seven years, and I too attended my share of events on the political circuit. They can prove valuable in terms of meeting potential sources and watching newsmakers in a room where alcohol flows freely and telling behaviour is sometimes on display.
All that to say, there were lots of people who likely attended because they felt it was their job. You can disagree with that, but it can help to explain the names of journalists from the CBC, CTV, the Canadian Press, the Toronto Star, Global News and Reuters who attended, according to the Hill Times’ Stuart Benson, who writes a column dedicated to covering these kinds of bashes.
It also arguably explains the attendance of several politicians, particularly Conservative and Liberal MPs, given we still have a diplomatic relationship with the United States — a full Canadian political snub of the bash would be a significant event.
Still, there are some important differences to note here. I’m not seeing the journalists who were truly there for work posting about the honour of the invitation and heaping praise on Trump’s ambassador.
That’s why I think it’s still worth looking at who attended this event and how they talked about it — particularly if they have a platform they use to help shape narratives here in Canada.
So who was there?
As Norm Macdonald once said, “all the stars” were there.
One of the most infamous attendees of the event was the organizer of the Freedom Convoy, Tamara Lich.
She was found guilty of mischief for her role as one of the co-organizers of the event, which saw downtown Ottawa streets blockaded for weeks in 2022. The protesters idled their trucks, filling apartments with fumes, and blasted horns at all hours of the night. I remember hearing about people going to underground parking garages to get some sleep.
The demonstration against lifesaving public health measures also forced thirteen families with kids fighting cancer to delay or reschedule their chemotherapy appointments, saw fireworks ping off windows of residential buildings, and local residents reported harassment when they left their homes.
Some at that same protest had at one point circulated an MOU that called for the overthrow of the country’s democratically elected government.
Lich is currently serving a 12 month house arrest sentence, but she’s allowed to leave home for work — something her new employer, Rebel News, claims to work hard to make possible.
Apparently, part of that “work” includes hobnobbing with a man who said the the idea of Canada becoming the 51st state is “a great discussion” for our leaders to have.
“It was an honour and a pleasure to attend the 4th of July American Independence Day celebrations at the Ambassador’s residence in Ottawa,” Lich wrote, beaming in a series of photos alongside Hoekstra that she posted to Twitter.
“I had the opportunity to speak with Ambassador Hoekstra and thank him, the President, and the American people for their heartfelt support throughout the Freedom Convoy and ever since.”
At the event, Conservative MP Jamil Jivani — who has recently been spending his time angrily filming videos about Pride parades — posed for a photo with Lich, which the convoy organizer posted to Twitter with the caption “he’s a gem.”
Lich wasn’t the only Rebel personality to attend the party.
Ezra Levant, who appeared to interview the U.S. ambassador at the party, posted that it was an “honor” to be invited to “the U.S. ambassador’s beautiful house for his Independence Day celebration.”
The website’s Quebec “correspondent,” Alexandra Lavoie — who you might remember from the time I caught her sneakily trying to film me — also shared a smiling photo in front of Hoekstra’s residence, writing that she was “honoured to be invited.”
Several Juno News contributors were also in attendance at the party, including Harrison Faulkner, who has made lists of politicians with dual citizenship — which were then shared on far-right Telegram channels — and who did a very friendly interview with the founder of the Proud Boys, which was pulled offline by his then-publication, True North.
Sue-Ann Levy, another Juno contributor who really loves to call me a “slut” and a “whore,” (I wish I was kidding) was also there.
Other hilariously odd invited guests include a professor and podcaster who calls himself “The Food Professor,” and a podcaster named Josh — both of whom got one-on-one interviews with Hoekstra on or around the date of the party.
According to Luke LeBrun of PressProgress, the U.S. embassy told him they had “released an open media invitation to cover the 250th Independence Day celebration,” and that many of these attendees “registered to cover the event for their outlets, along with a wide range of other media entities.”
Still, it appears some attended to work as journalists — while others treated it as an opportunity to kiss the Trump-linked ring.
In times like these, I think it’s worth paying attention to who did the former and who did the latter. Remember that when you see how these “outlets” cover the Trump administration, or even push divisive issues here in Canada.
But I also think that, in times like these, we need to find moments when we can laugh. And good god, is this party’s guest list ever one of those chances.
This was the best the U.S. Ambassador to Canada could do? Yikes.
How the mighty have fallen.
