{"id":844687,"date":"2026-09-12T00:10:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T00:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/844687\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T00:10:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T00:10:10","slug":"former-canadian-leader-jean-chretien-tells-us-never-mistake-our-generosity-for-weakness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/844687\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Canadian leader Jean Chr\u00e9tien tells US: \u2018Never mistake our generosity for weakness’"},"content":{"rendered":"

GANDER, Newfoundland (AP) \u2014 Standing in the town that sheltered thousands of stranded Americans after the Sept. 11 attacks,<\/a> former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chr\u00e9tien<\/a> marked the 25th anniversary Friday with a pointed message for the United States: \u201cNever mistake our generosity for weakness.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 92-year-old former leader, who was prime minister at the time of the attacks, drew a standing ovation after telling his \u201cAmerican friends\u201d that Canadians may be tolerant and kind but \u201cwe bow to no one.\u201d U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra rose afterward and hugged him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI say that not in anger, but as one friend to another,\u201d Chr\u00e9tien said. \u201cFriends need to be honest with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s extraordinary response to the attacks.<\/p>\n

Gander, Newfoundland opened its arms<\/a> to nearly 6,600 airline passengers <\/a> diverted there when the U.S. government shut down airspace during 9\/11.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Chr\u00e9tien recalled how Canada rallied behind the United States after the attacks, when Americans were \u201cour neighbors, our closest friends under attack.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a day when we saw the worst of humanity and the very best,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Some of the very best, he said, happened in Gander.<\/p>\n

Gander remembers the day strangers became neighbors<\/p>\n

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\u2019s population.<\/p>\n

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 \u201cplane people.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo while the rest of the world was seeing these horrific images, we saw something very different,\u201d he said. \u201cWe saw extraordinary kindness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey also opened their hearts,\u201d Chr\u00e9tien said. \u201cBecause that is what I call the Canadian way. When our friends are in trouble, we don\u2019t hesitate. We act.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"UnitedUnited States Ambassador Pete Hoekstra, left, and Canadian Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson listen as former prime minister Jean Chretien, speaks at the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, in Gander, N.L., Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Paul Daly \/The Canadian Press via AP)<\/p>\n

Hoekstra also received applause as he thanked Gander and Canada for standing with Americans then and in the years since. \u201cThank you to the people of Gander. Thank you for your friendship,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Hoekstra called those who responded 25 years ago \u201cextraordinary people doing extraordinary things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBeds? Check. Food? Check. Medicine? Check. Roof over their head? Check,\u201d he said. \u201cYou stood up. You did what was needed to be done.\u201d<\/p>\n

His warm reception was notable because Hoekstra\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeptember 11 is bigger than politics, personalities or titles,\u201d the town said.<\/p>\n

The story of what happened in Gander inspired the hit Broadway musical \u201cCome From Away,\u201d and passengers and residents have continued returning for reunions.<\/p>\n

An old friendship under new strain<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney had used a campaign stop in Gander last year to say Canada was mourning \u201ca friendship lost\u201d with the United States.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u2018We bow to no one\u2019<\/p>\n

Against that backdrop, Chr\u00e9tien said Canada\u2019s willingness to help should not be misread.<\/p>\n

\u201cNever mistake our tolerance for lack of determination,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd never, never mistake our kindness for softness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBuilding a country like this, with this climate and this geography, is a sign of toughness, not of weakness,\u201d Chr\u00e9tien said.<\/p>\n

He recalled Canadians and Americans fighting together in Afghanistan after the attacks and the long history of the countries standing beside one another. Chr\u00e9tien noted that 165 Canadians died in Afghanistan, including 158 members of the Canadian Armed Forces.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe embrace our friends and we help them in their moment of need, but we bow to no one,\u201d Chr\u00e9tien said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the more we are insulted, threatened and abused, the more we will stand up for ourselves and stand united.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoekstra, whose parents were liberated in the Netherlands by Allied forces that included Canadians during World War II, also invoked the countries\u2019 history of shared sacrifice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe stood side by side,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Chr\u00e9tien ended not by rejecting that friendship but by calling for its restoration on terms Canada could accept.<\/p>\n

\u201cRespect, friendship and good neighbors,\u201d he said. \u201cLong live the United States and long live Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GANDER, Newfoundland (AP) \u2014 Standing in the town that sheltered thousands of stranded Americans after the Sept. 11…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":844688,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[50090,23,103,357518,357519,136471,3,357520,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-844687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-9-11","tag-america","tag-canada","tag-gander","tag-jean-chretien","tag-newfoundland","tag-news","tag-sept-11-2001","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=844687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844687\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/844688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=844687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=844687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=844687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}