Former prime minister Jean Chretien, during a speech commemorating the 25-year anniversary of Sept. 11, delivered what he called “a message for our American friends.”
“Never mistake our generosity for weakness,” he said.
“We embrace our friends, and we help them in their moment of need. But we bow to no one. And the more we are insulted and threatened and abused, the more we will stand up for ourselves and stand united,” he later added to applause in the room.
“I say that not in anger, but as one friend to another.”
Chretien, who was prime minister in 2001, was one of several speakers participating in a memorial event in Gander, N.L., where locals took in thousands of travellers who were grounded during the terror attacks.
U.S. authorities closed American airspace following the attack, forcing all planes to land. Thirty-eight aircraft touched down in Gander, a town of roughly 10,000. Nearly 7,000 passengers were left stranded. Gander residents stepped up to provide shelter to the new arrivals, putting them in hundreds of hotel rooms.
In a preamble to his remarks to the U.S., he said he was not representing “any government.” Rather, he said he was speaking as a 92-year-old former prime minister and a “very proud Canadian.”
“Friends need to be honest with each other. Just as the people in Gander, and anywhere else in Newfoundland and Labrador, they will give you the shirt off their backs. Like they did 25 years ago.
“But they will always show you the respect of telling you the truth. So, my friends, here is to truth, to respect, to friendship and to good neighbours: Vive les États-Unis, et vive le Canada.”
Canada and the U.S. have been in a protracted trade war since February 2025. Both countries have mounted escalating restrictions on a variety of goods, ranging from booze, dairy, metals, softwood lumber and others, affecting billions of dollars in products.
U.S. President Donald Trump has also repeatedly called Prime Minister Mark Carney “governor” – a reference to threats from the U.S. administration to pressure Canada to relinquish its own sovereignty to become a U.S. state.
The two countries appeared close to a deal in late August, but talks fell apart after the U.S. tried to introduce last-minute adjustments, according to Carney. Those changes included restrictions on Canada’s trade deals with other countries and its ability to protect the French language, the prime minister claimed.
On Thursday, U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer blamed Canada for the breakdown. He said his team “sought to accommodate” the Canadian side by “cutting tariffs in half” on steel and aluminum, among other offers on “things that are sensitive for the Canadians.”
