President Donald Trump's nominee to be the U.S. ambassador in Ottawa said on Thursday he views Canada as an independent nation, pledging to respect its sovereignty amid a global trade war and hostile rhetoric that has roiled diplomatic relations.

Canada, meet good cop.At his U.S. Senate confirmation hearing for ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra steered clear of annexation talk and saluted the countries' long-standing partnership.He was peppered with questions from Democrats about what they described as disrespectful language from Trump that's poisoned an old alliance.