Ottawa, Canada - US Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra used a radio interview this week to make the shocking claim that the US "does not need Canada" despite the two nations' historic relationship.

Hoekstra went on the offensive during an appearance on Montreal's CJAD 800 radio station, defending President Donald Trump and claiming that the US could easily replace the products it imports from Canada.

His rant was a continuation of claims made by Trump earlier this week, implying that the US does not need to renew the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) because it wants to focus on domestic manufacturing.

It also followed comments he made last year attacking the Canadian government after Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government released an ad criticizing the Trump administration's tariff regime.

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Such claims have been questioned by manufacturers, as well as both Canada and Mexico, because much of the US' domestic production is reliant on components and goods imported from its two closest neighbors.

"I think the key operative word is 'need,'" Hoekstra said of Trump's comments in Michigan. "No, we do not 'need' Canada."

"The President recognizes the value of these relationships, but at the same time it's kind of like, 'No, we've got to get to a new agreement.'"

Hoekstra said that while businesses in both countries have integrated their supply chains under the North American Free Trade Agreement and the USMCA, there's always room for change.

"Hopefully, this fall we will have a new outline of how we do business together and whether those relationships that we have put in place will foster and grow," Hoekstra said.

"Or whether Canadian companies and American companies will go their separate ways because of the decisions that are made by their governments."