Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed regret today over his country's lost friendship with the United States while visiting a Newfoundland town that provided refuge to thousands of Americans lost in traffic chaos following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
Carney visited the city of Gander during the second day of campaigning for Canada's general election.
The visit comes in the shadow of a trade war waged against Canada by Republican US President Donald Trump. He has also been attacking Canada's sovereignty almost daily, leaving many Canadians feeling betrayed.
"In this crisis caused by the American president and those who enable him to behave this way, we mourn the lost friendship with the United States. In Gander, Canadians did incredible things for Americans when they needed those things. Now we must do incredible things for ourselves," Carney said.
Gander opened its doors to nearly 6.600 airline passengers who were diverted there after the US government closed its airspace due to a terrorist attack.
In just a few hours, the town of about 10.000 people was flooded with passengers from 38 passenger planes, but locals welcomed them into their homes, offering them food and a place to sleep.
More than 200 flights were diverted to Canada due to the events of September 11 in the United States.
Gander Airport was a staging point for transatlantic flights before long-haul flights became possible. Built in 1938 in anticipation of the outbreak of World War II, it had the longest runway in the world at the time, and on September 11, 2001, it was the second-busiest airport in the world.
Airline crews filled hotels in Gander, and passengers were housed in schools, fire stations, and churches, as well as in residents' homes. The Canadian military brought in beds, stores donated blankets, coffee machines, and barbecues. Unable to find their luggage, the passengers were forced to rely on the kindness of strangers, locals, who gave them their clothes, showers, toys, and free phone calls home.
Carney said that all of this was "further proof of the unbreakable bond between Canadians and Americans. Whenever Americans have a need, Canadians are always there to show up," Carney said, recalling that this happened during the Iran hostage crisis in 1980, and during the catastrophic fires in California or in Afghanistan, in which Canadians as part of NATO lost 158 soldiers and seven civilians.
However, as soon as he came to power, the new US President Donald Trump declared a trade war with Canada and began to persistently refer to it as the "51st state of the USA", which angered Canadians. He even said that he would annex Canada to the US through economic coercion and assessed that the interstate border is a fictitious line.
Trump has imposed 25 percent tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum and plans to impose tariffs on all Canadian goods starting April 2.
Carney said Canadians have overcome the shock of the betrayal and now have to fend for themselves, even though Americans and Canadians have traditionally been like brothers. "But that has changed, and we are not the ones who made that change. Unfortunately, President Trump's actions have put that friendship to a greater test than ever in our shared history," he added.
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