Sept. 11 attack anniversary reminder of Canada-U.S. ties, St. Catharines mayor says

The lingering grief caused by 9/11 terror attacks is a reminder of strong ties between Canadian and American people despite the current political climate and trade tensions, said the mayor of St. Catharines, Ont., as the city expands its memorial for victims.

This Friday marks 25 years since nearly 3,000 people in the U.S. were killed when al-Qaida hijackers slammed planes into the World Trade Center twin towers in New York and crashed into the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field.

The anniversary comes amid an escalating trade war between Canada and the United States, but Mayor Mat Siscoe said the relationship between the two countries’ people remains stronger than any trade conflict.

“At the end of the day, I think Canadians view American citizens as brothers and cousins and sisters,” Siscoe said. “The words and the actions of our governments, I don’t think, will necessarily affect that.”

Siscoe and the U.S. consul general in Toronto, Baxter Hunt, along with other dignitaries, are set to mark the anniversary a day early at the 9/11 memorial trail at Happy Rolph’s Animal Farm in St. Catharines’ north end, overlooking Lake Ontario.

Siscoe said the memorial trail, which opened in 2006, has trees honouring 24 Canadians and three U.S. citizens with family in Canada who were killed in the attacks. The city also wanted to memorialize survivors and first responders by planting nine more trees this year.

A Canadian flag permanently flies at half-mast at the memorial trail, which also has a “Tree of Peace.” The trees honouring the victims have plaques listing their names, ages, birthplaces and where they died that day.

“This is the most significant terrorist attack that’s taken place on … north American soil,” Siscoe said. “Given the Canadian connection and our proximity to the American border, we thought that it was an appropriate place to commemorate them.”

On the day of the attacks, more than 200 planes were diverted to Canadian airports and the Newfoundland community of Gander famously took in 38 passenger planes carrying more than 6,500 travellers after U.S. airspace was closed.

Three days after the attack, 80,000 people crowded Parliament Hill for a national day of mourning, according to a police estimate reported by The Canadian Press that week.

The Canadian Red Cross sent 146 volunteers to help on the ground in New York and hundreds of Canadian firefighters and police officers went to support the survivors and assist in the recovery efforts.

Siscoe said he hopes the memory of the attacks brings the people on both sides of the border closer.

“I think this was a grief borne predominantly by residents of the United States, but it was a grief shared by Canadians, and so I think if nothing else, this is a recognition that the ties that bind our peoples are a lot stronger than any trade war,” he said.

“I hope that our memories of this are a reminder that we are still two of the closest nations in the history of the world, and we have a lot of shared history together.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2026.

Maan Alhmidi, The Canadian Press