Jean Chrétien served as the 20th Prime Minister of Canada from 1993 through 2003. He was Canada’s leader when al-Qaeda attacked the United States on September 11, 2001. The Chrétien government’s immediate response was Operation Yellow Ribbon, in which Canada received 238 planes with 33,000 people who couldn’t land in the locked-down U.S.
Chrétien, now retired at 92 years old, spoke Friday at a commemoration ceremony in Gander, the Newfoundland town of fewer than 10,000 residents that took in 38 planes and 6,600 stranded people from 95 countries that terrible day 25 years ago. In his speech Friday, the former prime minister celebrated Gander’s generosity:
Families opened their homes, and they also opened their hearts… because that is what I call the Canadian way. When our friends are in trouble, we do not hesitate; we act…. We do the decent thing. We do the human thing and the right thing. That is what the people of Gander did, and it is what people across did in Canada after 9/11 [Jean Chrétien, September 11 commemoration speech, Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, 2026.09.11, transcribed from Youtube, timestamp 2:30].
Chrétien noted with further pride that, the day after al-Qaeda’s attack and Canada’s instant welcoming of tens of thousands of refugees, Canada made the motion at an emergency meeting of NATO ambassadors to invoke Article 5 of the alliance charter for the first (and so far only) time to come to America’s aid:
Our closest friend was attacked. We said that was an attack on us too, and we fought back side by side. This was more than a symbol. Canadian troops went into Afghanistan with NATO to fight al-Qaeda and destroy their training bases. In fact, in the following years, 165 Canadians died in Afghanistan, including 158 Canadian soldiers….
That is Canada that came together on 9/11. This is the Canada that we are today. It is what the families of Gander showed the world 25 years ago. It is what Canadians show the world every day, again, because it’s the Canadian way [Chrétien, 2026.09.11, timestamp 6:08].
Chrétien then turned from the past to the present to speak directly to us Americans, his nation’s closest friends, about his people’s character:
Today I’m not representing here any government. 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:
Yes, Canada is generous, open country, and Canadians are tolerant and kind. But never mistake our generosity for weakness. Never never mistake our tolerance for lack of determination. And never never mistake our kindness for softness. 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 [Chrétien, 2026.09.11, timestamp 8:37].
…and about how Gander exemplifies the true strength of a great nation:
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. And the more we are insulted or threatened and abused, the more we will stand up for ourselves and stand united.
And I say that not in anger, but as one friend to another. Friends need to be honest with each other. Just ask 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 neighbors. Vive les États-Unis, et vive le Canada! [Chrétien, 2026.09.11, timestamp 10:46]
Our friend Jean Chrétien and our friends in Gander and across Canada are the people against whom our angry President has been waging a senseless war of words and tariffs. Jean Chrétien responds not with anger but with honesty and persistent commitment to our friendship. Chrétien recognizes that strength is not a zero-sum game, that a nation can stand up for itself and be strong without knocking other nations down. Quite the contrary: Chrétien’s Gander address reminds us that helping allies makes the allies and the helper stronger. That’s what Canadian patriotism sounds like. That’s what our patriotism should sound like.