American diplomat recounts Canadian solidarity with U.S. after Sept. 11 attacks

OTTAWA — 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 “a mountain of flowers” outside the building.

“It was just a day that none of us will ever forget,” said Hunt, now the U.S. consul general in Toronto. “What also stuck with me was the outpouring of support that we got from Canadians.”

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.

In the days that followed, Hunt witnessed many more displays of Canadian compassion and support for a grieving nation.

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.

”By their outpouring of concern, sympathy and help, the feelings and actions of Canadians have been clear,” then-prime minister Jean Chrétien told the crowd.

”And 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.”

Similar moments of silence took place at provincial legislatures and even in the heart of Canada’s financial sector on Bay Street. It was Canada’s first official day of mourning in three decades.

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.

“Just an incredible showing of compassion by those people for complete strangers, who needed them at that time,” Hunt said. “There were also many, many stranded passengers who went to other locations around Canada, about 33,000, I understand.”

Hunt was quick to mention the 24 Canadians who were killed in the attacks alongside other non-Americans.

He was 38 and working as the embassy’s political-military officer on Sept. 11, 2001. American diplomats “naturally came together” with Canadian law enforcement and military officials to identify threats, he said.

“No one knew initially exactly what else might happen. And we wanted to make sure we weren’t vulnerable to other attacks,” Hunt said. “The response of Canadians at a time when we most needed it was incredible.”

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 — 158 soldiers and 7 civilians — died in the conflict.

“It 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’t seen before,” Hunt said.

“It was something that just reinforced the need for us to work together.”

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 “war” on its erstwhile ally and U.S. President Donald Trump moved to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America.”

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.

“That 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’s something that I believe is still very strong today,” he said.

“It’s great to remember that as we approach the 25th anniversary, and be grateful that we have that close, close relationship.”

The Toronto consulate is holding events this month to commemorate the anniversary.

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.

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.

Hunt will open the Toronto Stock Exchange that day to commemorate the city’s connections with New York. He’ll also visit a memorial walkway in St. Catharines, Ont. on Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2026.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press