“Never mistake our generosity for weakness. 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 and threatened and abused, the more we will stand up for ourselves and stand united. I say that not in anger, but as one friend to another. Vive les États-Unis, et vive le Canada!”
Former Prime Minister Jean Chretien, September 11, 2026.
The effect of the planes hitting the World Trade Center in 2001 are still rippling twenty-five years later. Some directly, others coincidental.
Twenty-five years ago on September 11, 2001 -by sheer coincidence- I stepped into a newsroom for the first time to begin my first foray into the newspaper industry.
The Muse, MUN’s student newspaper, had its orientation meeting for new volunteer reporters on the morning of September 11, 2001. There was no social media or smartphones then, and the Internet wasn’t as prevalent in our lives. I was blissfully unaware as I left Bowater House and walked through campus to The Muse office. If memory serves, the first plane had already struck the World Trade Center by the time I arrived for the meeting. We did a round of introductions, chose the roles we were interested in, and then the major current news event dominated the discussion.
After the meeting adjourned, I ran into a few friends on my way through the University Center. When I returned to Bowater House, we gathered around the TV in the common room to watch the tragic events unfold live on CNN and other news stations. It was a memorable day and week as the diverted passengers arrived on campus.
I didn’t directly write anything about the ongoing events of 9/11 – my debut news story was a mundane article about student loans, and it was a shared byline. I think my first solo byline was a rather bland article about university enrolment, but I did get to meet the university president of the time.
On a small personal level in the grand fabric of things, the date of my start in the industry is always easy to remember. Worldwide, the events of that day ignited the start of a major shift, which wasn’t always for the better.
Those attacks twenty-five years ago were due to the United States’ overreach. They’ve always meddled in other countries’ inner workings, but it was always in the shadows. Their Patriot Act and ICE are a purposeful effect of 9/11 that’s even worse today. Today, the United States, Canada’s so-called closest ally, have gone full mask off under Donald Trump and the current administration (even under Presidents Obama and Biden, a mask of gentility covered their doctrine). We are currently looking in the barrels of a trade war and open threats of annexation – the thanks we get for assisting them on 9/11, the resulting war in Afghanistan and other events over the years.
We can see their shadowy influence here in Canada in recent times, and it’s becoming more overt. The Trucker Convoy in Ottawa a few years ago was driven by their funds. Presently they are interfering in Alberta by driving a separation wedge, and there are allegations of U.S. interference in Quebec as their provincial election campaign proceeds.
In particular, news of an October referendum for Alberta separation has reached the office of the Newfoundland Inkslinger. As my column persona has roots in an Albertan newspaper (the now defunct Lloydminster Meridian Booster), I’ve been following the referendum with some concern. I’m not against the concept of separation. I’d love to see Newfoundland once again be independent. We existed long before Canada and the United States became countries. Quebec also has a strong case for separation. Both provinces have a strong sense of nation. But only if the separation is done properly. In Alberta’s case, there are figures lurking that are pushing this separation agenda so the United States can annex the province economically or militarily, and then absorb Canada bit by bit.
One of the influences is U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra. House of Commons Petition e-7531 to expel the U.S. ambassador to Canada (link) is available for signing.
The petition states:
- U.S Ambassador Pete Hoekstra has repeatedly made public statements undermining the Canada-U.S. diplomatic relations, including characterizing the 2025 Canadian federal election as “anti-American”;
- Ambassador Hoekstra has normalized the Trump administration’s threats to annex Canada as the “51st state,” describing such rhetoric as a “term of endearment”;
- Ambassador Hoekstra has been linked to a Michigan-based voter identification app used by the Alberta separatist Centurion Project, while claiming no knowledge of its use; and
- The Alberta Prosperity Project met with U.S. State Department officials three times between April 2025 and January 2026, with Hoekstra claiming no knowledge of those meetings, raising serious questions about U.S. diplomatic interference in Canadian unity.
U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoesktra visited Gander, Newfoundland on 9/11/26 for a 25th anniversary ceremony. Surprisingly, the controversial ambassador’s speech was thankful and humble, and I stood down my tomatoes. In his speech reflecting on his time as Prime Minister on 9/11/01, former Prime Minister Jean Chretien uttered the words in the pullquote that opens this column to multiple standing ovations. They were words that Canada had to hear.
The United States of America are a threat to Canada and the world. If the Canadian Flag ever falls in my lifetime, I am always a Newfoundlander. The pink-white-and-green is ready to fly.
This column may be revised and updated with new information and developments over the coming weeks.
