OTTAWA — It was a tough message, cast as the hard truth Americans need to hear right now from their Canadian friends.
Former prime minister Jean Chrétien, speaking in Gander, N.L., during a day of emotional tributes to the victims of the 9/11 attacks, said Canada showed solidarity and kindness to Americans in their time of need 25 years ago and sent soldiers to fight and die alongside U.S. forces in Afghanistan. He warned, however, that the United States should not underestimate Canada’s resolve to resist attacks on its sovereignty.
Without ever mentioning the words “trade,” “51st state,” or “tariffs,” Chrétien gave voice to an unspoken undercurrent in the national mood, as dignitaries, singers and ordinary Canadians and Americans hailed the acts of international friendship 25 years ago.
“Yes, Canada is a generous, open country, and Canadians are tolerant and kind,” Chrétien said in a nationally televised address. “But never mistake our generosity for weakness.
“Never, never mistake our tolerance for lack of determination, and never, never mistake our kindness for softness.”
Thousands attending the 9/11 commemorative ceremony in a hockey arena converted into a massive theatre leapt to their feet to give Chrétien, who said he was not representing “any government,” a standing ovation, with some hooting in appreciation.
“I am just a former prime minister, 92 years old, and a very proud Canadian, but I have seen a few things in my lifetime, and I know this country and the people from coast to coast to coast, I have a message for our American friends,” he said.
Chrétien’s remarks came on the heels of a short address by U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra, the outspoken and controversial envoy of U.S. President Donald Trump.
With Canada-U.S. trade talks now at a stalemate and ongoing taunts by Trump as the backdrop, Chrétien tapped into the depths of Canadian frustrations, and struck a chord with his audience.
“We know who we are, and we are proud of it. Building a country like this, with this climate and this geography, is a sign of toughness, not of weakness,” he said, to laughter.
“Welcoming people from all over the world, caring for each other, including the weakest in society, is a sign of strength. We embrace our friends, and we help them in their moment of need.
“But we bow to no one.”
“The more we are insulted or threatened and abused, the more we will stand up for ourself (sic) and stand united. And I say that not in anger, but as one friend to another.”
Chrétien recounted the remarkable outpouring of kindness by the people of Gander, as well as his pride that the Canadian government sponsored the motion to invoke the NATO alliance’s mutual-defence clause, “the first and only time in the history of NATO it was ever used.”
That provision, Article 5, says that an attack on one NATO country is an attack on all of NATO, Chrétien reminded. “Our closest friend was attacked. We said that was an attack on us too, and we fought back side by side.”
He described the extraordinary open-air rally on Parliament Hill four days after the attacks when he, the governor general, the American ambassador and more than 100,000 Canadians and others gathered on the vast lawn in front of Centre Block “out in the open, unafraid, solemn.”
At that same time, U.S. leaders were mourning the massive loss of life in a Washington cathedral amid tight security.
“It was one of the most moving, emotional moments of my life. Three minutes of complete silence. You could hear a pin drop. Our friends were hurt, and we were hurting with them.”
That Chrétien, a former Liberal prime minister, delivered such a tough message to Americans stood in sharp contrast to the public absence Friday of Prime Minister Mark Carney, who was attending a cabinet retreat in Banff and did not attend the Gander ceremony. Carney issued a written statement on the 9/11 anniversary.
Chrétien did not pull his punches, saying, “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.
“Long live the United States, and long live Canada,” he closed in French.
He finished to another standing ovation, and Hoekstra was quick to move across the stage and hug Chrétien, who glanced off to the audience.
Hoekstra expressed thanks to the people of Gander and communities across Canada that welcomed American airline passengers stranded after four terrorist hijackings 25 years ago forced aircraft from the skies over North America and the Atlantic.
Hoekstra, too, hailed the legacy of the thousands who died at the Twin Towers and at the Pentagon in Washington.
Hundreds more died in Pennsylvania after passengers charged their plane’s attackers, forcing the jet to crash in a field, sparing other lives.
Hoekstra marked the “shared sacrifice” and military contribution of Canadians who subsequently fought with the U.S. in Afghanistan, and said “when people in America hear the word Gander, our hearts soften, and we just quietly murmur another prayer and once more we say thank you.
“As a representative of the United States government, thank you to the people of Gander. Thank you for your friendship. Thank you for standing up. To the nation of Canada: thank you. Thank you for being a partner. Thank you for the shared sacrifices that you have made with us not only after 9/11,” but over the years including liberating his hometown in the Netherlands.
The audience offered applause, but no standing ovation.
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