GANDER, Newfoundland — Standing in the town that sheltered thousands of stranded Americans after the Sept. 11 attacks, former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien marked the 25th anniversary Friday with a pointed message for the United States: "Never mistake our generosity for weakness."
The 92-year-old former leader, who was prime minister at the time of the attacks, drew a standing ovation after telling his “American friends” that Canadians may be tolerant and kind but “we bow to no one.” U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra rose afterward and hugged him.
“I say that not in anger, but as one friend to another,” Chrétien said. “Friends need to be honest with each other.”
The unusually blunt remarks came during a solemn ceremony honoring the nearly 3,000 people killed in New York, at the Pentagon and aboard Flight 93, and remembering Gander’s extraordinary response to the attacks.
Gander, Newfoundland opened its arms to nearly 6,600 airline passengers diverted there when the U.S. government shut down airspace during 9/11.
The remarks came at a striking moment in Canada-U.S. relations. The longtime allies are embroiled in a trade war under U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly talked about making Canada the 51st U.S. state.
Chrétien recalled how Canada rallied behind the United States after the attacks, when Americans were “our neighbors, our closest friends under attack.”
“It was a day when we saw the worst of humanity and the very best,” he said.
Some of the very best, he said, happened in Gander.
Gander remembers the day strangers became neighbors
On Sept. 11, 2001, 38 planes carrying more than 6,500 passengers and crew were diverted to the small Newfoundland town after the United States shut its airspace. The arrivals nearly doubled Gander’s population.
Residents in Gander and surrounding communities turned schools, churches and meeting halls into shelters, supplied food and medicine and welcomed strangers into their homes. The stranded travelers became known locally as the “plane people.”
American passenger Raphael Fusco, who was 17 when his flight from Milan to Newark was diverted to Newfoundland, said Gander left him with a different memory of Sept. 11.
“So while the rest of the world was seeing these horrific images, we saw something very different,” he said. “We saw extraordinary kindness.”
“They also opened their hearts,” Chrétien said. “Because that is what I call the Canadian way. When our friends are in trouble, we don’t hesitate. We act.”
Hoekstra also received applause as he thanked Gander and Canada for standing with Americans then and in the years since. “Thank you to the people of Gander. Thank you for your friendship,” he said.
Hoekstra called those who responded 25 years ago “extraordinary people doing extraordinary things.”
“Beds? Check. Food? Check. Medicine? Check. Roof over their head? Check,” he said. “You stood up. You did what was needed to be done.”
His warm reception was notable because Hoekstra’s participation had itself generated controversy. Gander officials defended inviting him after criticism of his planned appearance, saying his attendance did not amount to an endorsement of the Trump administration.
“September 11 is bigger than politics, personalities or titles,” the town said.
The story of what happened in Gander inspired the hit Broadway musical “Come From Away,” and passengers and residents have continued returning for reunions.
An old friendship under new strain
Prime Minister Mark Carney had used a campaign stop in Gander last year to say Canada was mourning “a friendship lost” with the United States.
Canada-U.S. trade negotiations collapsed last month after Carney rejected proposed terms he said threatened Canadian sovereignty and key industries. Washington imposed steep new tariffs, Canada retaliated this week and the Trump administration responded with additional restrictions on Canadian goods and access to U.S. government contracts.
‘We bow to no one’
Against that backdrop, Chrétien said Canada’s willingness to help should not be misread.
“Never mistake our tolerance for lack of determination,” he said. “And never, never mistake our kindness for softness.”
“Building a country like this, with this climate and this geography, is a sign of toughness, not of weakness,” Chrétien said.
He recalled Canadians and Americans fighting together in Afghanistan after the attacks and the long history of the countries standing beside one another. Chrétien noted that 165 Canadians died in Afghanistan, including 158 members of the Canadian Armed Forces.
“We embrace our friends and we help them in their moment of need, but we bow to no one,” Chrétien said.
“And the more we are insulted, threatened and abused, the more we will stand up for ourselves and stand united.”
Hoekstra, whose parents were liberated in the Netherlands by Allied forces that included Canadians during World War II, also invoked the countries’ history of shared sacrifice.
“We stood side by side,” he said.
Chrétien ended not by rejecting that friendship but by calling for its restoration on terms Canada could accept.
“Respect, friendship and good neighbors,” he said. “Long live the United States and long live Canada.”
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