‘Tribute in Light’, the annual memorial to 9/11 victims/Wikipedia

To say that anyone old enough remembers where they were on the morning of September 11th, 2001, would be an understatement. The airliner attacks by Al Qaeda suicide bombers on the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, on the Pentagon, and the one meant for the U.S. Capitol that was thwarted by incredibly brave passengers marked the real beginning of a century that has seen immeasurable change, including in Canada’s most consequential bilateral relationship. We have a selection of remembrances from Policy contributors on the events of September 11th, 2001, their aftermath, and how Canadians responded — from Pennsylvania Ave. to the Gander, Nfld. Comfort Inn. 

We open with a deeply moving piece by former CTV Washington Correspondent Rosemary Thompson, who describes reporting on the morning of September 11th in downtown D.C., the political aftermath of the attacks, and the heartbreaking loss her family suffered a year later, with the death of her son, Max. “As I look back on 9/11 and Canada’s response,” writes Thompson, “my hope is that individual Canadians will continue to reach across the border and build friendships with their colleagues in the United States, the way we did back then, and the way my colleagues did for me.” Here is Rosemary Thompson with 25 Years after Covering 9/11 from Washington: A Reflection on Loss, Hope and Rebuilding Trust.

While Thompson was outside the White House on the morning of 9/11, 10 blocks further east on Pennsylvania Ave, Peter Boehm and Louise Blais were managing the crisis and the immediate Canadian response at our embassy, directly across from the Capitol. We have pieces from both, on the harrowing events of that day, and the evolution of bilateral relations since. “Many of the personal bonds established in that time of crisis endure to this day, and all our team members went on to occupy senior positions at Global Affairs or serve as ambassadors in key postings,” Sen. Boehm writes in Remembering 9/11: A Day Like No Other at Canada’s Embassy in Washington.“I could not have been more proud of them. Each one deserved the Order of Canada.”

As a member of that team who went on to serve as Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Louise Blais ponders the contrast in our bilateral relationship 25 years later. “I will never forget standing in the Canadian Embassy, watching smoke rise from the Pentagon and hearing fighter jets overhead,” she recalls. “We did not know what would happen next. But we did know something fundamental: the security of our neighbour was inseparable from our own.” Here is Louise Blais with ‘They’ Were Not Attacked, We Were: Remembering Canadian Solidarity on 9/11.

In an outstanding addition to The Making of the Minutes: Our Policy-Historica Canada Series, we have Historica Canada President Anthony Wilson-Smith‘s story of how the Heritage Minutes production team, with Newfoundlander Rick Mercer in tow to play Gander Mayor Claude Miller, came from away to make the town and its remarkable residents the latest 60-second tribute for their role in welcoming thousands of stranded airline passengers on 9/11. “While our new Minutes have, in the last decade, routinely attracted more than a million views in the first month of release, none have come close to matching the immediate popularity of the Gander Minute,” writes Wilson-Smith. “Of the thousands of enthusiastic responses posted online, more than a third were Americans.” Here’s Anthony Wilson-Smith with 25 Years After 9/11: The Making of a Minute in Gander.

And, as the world remembers the horror of September 11th 2001, we’d like to close in the spirit of Gander, with this image of two stranded Liverpudlians who camped out in the gym of a local hotel and were immediately dubbed The Basement Boys by locals. Every year on 9/11, they still send a card and flowers to manager Karen Mills, who found room at the Comfort Inn.

With many thanks to all the writers who’ve contributed to this series.

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