TORONTO (AP) \u2014 Canada\u2019s ambassador to the U.S. for the last six years said Tuesday she\u2019s resigning next year as the two major trading partners plan to review the free trade agreement. <\/p>\n
Ambassador Kirsten Hillman<\/a> said in a letter it is the right time to put in place someone who will oversee talks about the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement<\/a> that is up review in 2026.<\/p>\n Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Hillman \u201cprepared the foundations for Canada in the upcoming review\u201d of the agreement.<\/p>\n Carney noted she\u2019s one of the longest-serving ambassadors to the United States in Canada\u2019s history. <\/p>\n Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Hillman in 2017. She was the first woman appointed to the role. <\/p>\n Hillman helped lead the trade negotiations during U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s first term and worked with U.S. and Chinese officials to win the release of two Canadians<\/a> detained in China. <\/p>\n Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, and Hillman had been leading trade talks with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. <\/p>\n U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra said on social media that Hillman has been an \u201cawesome and well-respected\u201d contributor to the U.S.-Canada relationship.<\/p>\n \u201cI value your friendship and wish you all the best in your next adventure. You will be missed,\u201d Hoekstra said.<\/p>\n Trump ended trade talks with Carney in October after the Ontario provincial government ran an anti-tariff advertisement<\/a> in the U.S., which upset the U.S. president. That followed a spring of acrimony, since abated, over Trump\u2019s insistence that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state<\/a>.<\/p>\n Asked this week when trade talks would resume, Trump said, \u201cwe\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n Canada is one of the most trade-dependent countries in the world, and more than 75% of Canada\u2019s exports go to the U.S. Most exports to the U.S. are exempted by the USMCA trade agreement<\/a> but that deal is up for review. <\/p>\n