{"id":198315,"date":"2026-09-06T17:16:28","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T17:16:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/198315\/"},"modified":"2026-09-06T17:16:28","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T17:16:28","slug":"american-diplomat-recounts-canadian-solidarity-with-u-s-after-sept-11-attacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/198315\/","title":{"rendered":"American diplomat recounts Canadian solidarity with U.S. after Sept. 11 attacks"},"content":{"rendered":"

OTTAWA \u2014 American diplomat Baxter Hunt recalls showing up to work at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa the morning after the 9\/11 terrorist attacks and finding \u201ca mountain of flowers\u201d outside the building.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just a day that none of us will ever forget,\u201d said Hunt, now the U.S. consul general in Toronto. \u201cWhat also stuck with me was the outpouring of support that we got from Canadians.\u201d<\/p>\n

This Friday marks 25 years since nearly 3,000 people in the U.S. were killed when al-Qaeda hijackers slammed planes into the World Trade Center in New York and crashed into the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field.<\/p>\n

In the days that followed, Hunt witnessed many more displays of Canadian compassion and support for a grieving nation.<\/p>\n

Three days after the attack, 80,000 people crowded Parliament Hill for a national day of mourning, according to an RCMP estimate reported by The Canadian Press that week.<\/p>\n

\u201dBy their outpouring of concern, sympathy and help, the feelings and actions of Canadians have been clear,\u201d then-prime minister Jean Chr\u00e9tien told the crowd.<\/p>\n

\u201dAnd even as we grieve our own losses, the message they send to the American people is equally clear. Do not despair. You are not alone. We are with you. The whole world is with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similar moments of silence took place at provincial legislatures and even in the heart of Canada\u2019s financial sector on Bay Street. It was Canada\u2019s first official day of mourning in three decades.<\/p>\n

On the day of the attacks, the Newfoundland community of Gander famously took in 38 passenger planes carrying more than 6,500 travellers after officials closed U.S. airspace.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust an incredible showing of compassion by those people for complete strangers, who needed them at that time,\u201d Hunt said. \u201cThere were also many, many stranded passengers who went to other locations around Canada, about 33,000, I understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunt was quick to mention the 24 Canadians who were killed in the attacks alongside other non-Americans.<\/p>\n

He was 38 and working as the embassy\u2019s political-military officer on Sept. 11, 2001. American diplomats \u201cnaturally came together\u201d with Canadian law enforcement and military officials to identify threats, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one knew initially exactly what else might happen. And we wanted to make sure we weren\u2019t vulnerable to other attacks,\u201d Hunt said. \u201cThe response of Canadians at a time when we most needed it was incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both countries standardized airport security. Allies took up air patrols around the U.S. The NATO military alliance invoked its collective security clause for the first time, sending Canadians and allied troops to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan. That war lasted for more than a dozen years and 165 Canadians \u2014 158 soldiers and 7 civilians \u2014 died in the conflict.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an event that was a shift in how we perceived threats around the world, and something that happened in the homeland, which we really hadn\u2019t seen before,\u201d Hunt said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was something that just reinforced the need for us to work together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunt spoke to The Canadian Press shortly before trade talks in Washington collapsed. Prime Minister Mark Carney accused the U.S. of launching an economic \u201cwar\u201d on its erstwhile ally and U.S. President Donald Trump moved to rename Lake Ontario as \u201cLake America.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunt said the legacy of 9\/11 is seen in the depth of the relationships between Canadians and Americans throughout the ups and downs in the bilateral relationship.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is something that we saw big time after the 9\/11 attacks. People just feeling like these are our friends and neighbours, and it is like an extended North American family. And that really came through. And that\u2019s something that I believe is still very strong today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great to remember that as we approach the 25th anniversary, and be grateful that we have that close, close relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Toronto consulate is holding events this month to commemorate the anniversary.<\/p>\n

They include an ongoing exhibition at a Toronto arts centre of pen and ink drawings by Toronto-based artist John Coburn, who was in New York after the attacks. Hunt said the exhibit includes interactive events with local college students, many of whom were born after the attacks.<\/p>\n

On the Friday anniversary, the consulate will hold an event at the same art centre bringing together first responders and government officials to honour the victims. That event will feature Maureen Basnicki, whose husband Ken was killed at the World Trade Center.<\/p>\n

Hunt will open the Toronto Stock Exchange that day to commemorate the city\u2019s connections with New York. He\u2019ll also visit a memorial walkway in St. Catharines, Ont. on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\t\tKeep it Factual<\/p>\n

Add CityNews Toronto as a trusted source on Google to see more local stories from us.<\/p>\n

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