To the Point for the Week of September 6, 2026
To the Point for the Week of September 6, 2026
We sent out an early special edition of To the Point on Thursday, September 9 covering the Premier’s reserved cabinet shuffle. It was a late send, so if you missed it, we encourage you read it on our website by clicking here.
For our regular edition, we look back on the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. We provide an analysis of the Canada-US relationship over the last 25 years.
FEDERAL
A Flashbulb Memory
A “flashbulb memory” is the term used to describe a vivid recollection of the moment someone learned of a consequential public event. Everyone has a moment when they tell you where they were when they heard about a specific, often sudden, unforeseen and shocking event. If you were a Gen X’er or Millennial growing up, you’d often hear where your parents were when President John F. Kennedy was shot, when the moon landing was televised or when the Berlin Wall fell, signalling the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.
The attacks of September 11 that occurred in New York City and Washington, D.C.—and the heroic acts of the passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93, who fought back before the plane crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania—is the flashbulb memory for the Gen X’ers and Millennials. The images. The videos. The testimonials from victims’ families and witnesses on the ground. The incredibly heroic acts of bravery, courage and duty by first responders who sprinted towards the catastrophe. They were captured in a way that lacks comparison to any historical event before it. Of course, the Kennedy assassination, the sight of Neil Armstrong taking mankind’s first steps on the moon, and the symbolic crumbling of communism were all captured on film. But 9/11 felt like it was captured from virtually every conceivable angle and viewpoint, hauntingly, like a Hollywood production.
The plane strikes, collapsing towers, the jumpers, a gaping wound in the western façade of the Pentagon, and a smouldering hole in a Pennsylvania field are seared images of the horrors of 9/11. Then came the image of thirty-eight wide-bodied commercial airliners—including Boeing 747s and Airbus A340s—that landed at Gander International Airport in Gander, Newfoundland, after all U.S. domestic airspace closed over fears of additional hijacked planes.
The problem for Gander wasn’t the influx of aircraft; the airport was designed to absorb them as a transatlantic aviation staging point. It was the almost 7,000 air travellers those aircraft carried to Gander on 9/11. Gander’s population at the time was roughly 10,000 people. Nevertheless, the story of Gander on 9/11 is less about aviation logistics than a Canadian community that rushed to help stranded strangers, many of whom were American. Unfortunately, there is simply not enough room here to tell all the stories of kindness, generosity and friendship Canadians showed Americans that day.
While schools, churches, community facilities, legions and private homes became emergency accommodations and Gander townies became cooks, delivery drivers and cell phone purveyors, government officials in Canada were responding to a crisis with no immediate answers.
A recent National Post excerpt from American author Jeffrey Robinson’s book, Ash and Honor: The Untold 368 Minutes of 9/11, recounts the immediate reaction to the attacks by then-Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and Transport Minister David Collenette. Collenette was coincidentally in Montréal to address a gathering of Airports Council International. The book’s account reveals the political fears and disappointment felt by Canadian officials. Ultimately, it gave a glimpse of a relationship that, beneath the political theatre and rhetoric of cooperation and integration on security and economics, was often more strained than it appeared.
There were essential moments of cooperation and collaboration between the United States and Canada on 9/11. Collenette and his department had a direct line to Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Jane F. Garvey as the U.S. chose to close its airspace and coordinate Operation Yellow Ribbon, diverting 224 commercial passenger aircraft to airports across Canada, including Gander.
A U.S. Embassy official joined the Canadian Situation Centre in Ottawa to coordinate the two nations’ responses. NORAD was activated to assume control of North American airspace, with military personnel operating under a joint continental air-defence framework as the risk of further attacks remained unclear.
Yet while all this was unfolding, Robinson writes that Prime Minister Chrétien was very anxious with concern over a possible Canadian connection to 9/11—both in terms of how al-Qaeda operatives entered the United States and a potential connection to Ahmed Ressam, the “Millennium Bomber,” who crossed into the U.S. from B.C. in December 1999 with explosives intended for an attack on Los Angeles International Airport. Chrétien was worried Canada would be blamed as a weak security link to the United States, and that any denials would be met with suspicion by U.S. officials. His fears weren’t unfounded. Arizona Senator John McCain, without evidence, suggested some of the 9/11 hijackers had entered through Canada—an assertion RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli publicly and categorically rejected.
Lingering resentments began to emerge as Canada shouldered an enormous operational, logistical and humanitarian response created by the decision to close U.S. airspace, without any acknowledgement. According to Robinson, Chrétien and Collenette were bothered and disappointed that President Bush never publicly acknowledged the responsibility Canada shouldered that day and in the weeks that followed.
The chaos, uncertainty and fear that unfolded that day left U.S. and Canadian officials no other choice than to coordinate a response to an event that had never been imagined. But it also deepened an asymmetrical relationship and exposed anxieties the current conflict between the two nations would confirm. The post-9/11 world presented a difficult reality for Canada: to avoid being labelled a homeland-security weakness, Canada would have to accept more security integration to preserve cross-border economic access. Without Canadian cooperation on screening and enforcement, businesses tied to cross-border supply chains would be severely impacted. In 2001, the U.S. bought about 87% of Canada’s exports (US$227.2 billion in goods) and supplied 64% of Canadian imports. Forty-three per cent of Canadian domestic goods were considered highly vulnerable to border disruptions. To be clear, Canada wasn’t forced into doing things it opposed, but it had less freedom to assert its sovereignty primarily due to economic geography. The first step in that integration was the December 2001 Smart Border Declaration and its 30-point action plan, reinforced ten years later by the Beyond the Border Framework.
Security extended beyond the border as Prime Minister Chrétien, and later Prime Minister Harper, navigated increasing demands to shoulder responsibility in Afghanistan. Canada’s deployment to Kandahar was among the most dangerous and politically consequential contributions by a NATO ally. More than 40,000 Canadian Armed Forces members served in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2014. Operation Medusa was a Canadian-led offensive with a high human cost. One hundred and fifty-eight Canadians died in Afghanistan. It proved to Washington that Canada took global security matters seriously and would not be a free rider on American military dominance.
Canada’s commitment of blood, sweat and resources in Afghanistan was tested when the Bush administration began rallying allies to support its invasion of Iraq. Chrétien refused. He would not go along without a UN Security Council resolution. Washington was disappointed.
As time moved further from 9/11 and into the Obama administration, trade and industrial frictions between the two countries simmered below the surface. Despite the deep integration and the rhetoric of partnership Canada heavily invested in, Canada was perceived to be the junior partner in a relationship largely shaped by Washington. Obama rejected the Keystone XL permit.
Canadian firms faced significant hurdles in winning U.S. government contracts, despite workarounds or exemptions proposed by Canadian officials. The United States imposed mandatory country-of-origin labelling rules that economically segregated Canadian cattle and hog exporters while increasing compliance costs. Canada successfully won a challenge at the WTO in 2014, but Congress repealed the labelling rules only after Canada prepared retaliatory measures in 2015. And who can forget the nagging issue of softwood lumber through the Obama, Trump, Biden and Trump administrations?
Despite the public declarations of friendship, alliance, cooperation and what not, there was always underlying tension between the United States and Canada. The current political and trade conflict with the United States was not initiated by Trump (calm down, we’re about to qualify that). It’s that President Trump has made longstanding structural issues between the two countries way, way more overt and chaotic.
The 9/11 bargain Canada entered with the United States in the years following the attacks was that Canada would be insulated from trade and industrial policy repercussions if it played ball on matters of security and intelligence. The President simply took longstanding, underlying frustrations between the two nations and cranked them to eleven. This exposed Canada to economic shock and uncertainty.
To loosen the shackles of its junior role in an asymmetrical partnership with the United States—forced into sharper relief by Trump’s tariffs—the Prime Minister has focused his time and resources on diversifying Canada’s economic relationships and trade opportunities. The much-hyped, two-day, invitation-only gathering in Toronto on September 14–15 will attract some of the world’s largest investors and asset managers with an eye on investing in Canada. The summit’s deal book lists approximately 167 investment opportunities in energy, critical minerals, infrastructure, technology and defence, and hopes to unlock more than $1 trillion in new investment in the Canadian economy. It is here that Carney hopes Canada’s “go-it-alone” effort to reduce its dependence on the United States begins to become real.
The generosity displayed in Gander was quintessential Canadiana: generosity, kindness and comfort. The official government response was necessity. Yet underlying tensions, anxieties and reservations permeated the Canada–U.S. relationship for the twenty-five years after 9/11, despite the theatre that comes with speeches, statements and official visits.
Out of the shadow of 9/11’s legacy, Canada now seeks to break free of the conditions that have characterized the relationship between the two countries. The upcoming Investment Summit will be a litmus test of whether Canada has the strength, political will and fortitude to exert more sovereignty towards asserting its dependence from the United States.
Christopher Mourtos, writing on behalf of ONpoint Strategy Group
ABOUT TO THE POINT
To the Point – ONpoint Strategy Group's weekly roundup – cuts through the noise to deliver insight and analysis of key federal, provincial, and municipal stories shaping Canada's policy and political landscape. Designed for decision-makers and thought leaders, this newsletter is your go-to resource for staying ahead. Share these trusted insights with your network to spark meaningful conversations. Simply hit forward or follow ONpoint Strategy Group on X and LinkedIn to spread these valuable perspectives."