Canada's leader laments lost friendship with US in town that sheltered stranded Americans after 9/11

TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday lamented Canada’s lost friendship with the United States as he visited the town that sheltered thousands of stranded American airline passengers after the 9/11 attacks.

Carney's visit to Gander, Newfoundland on the second day of a national election campaign comes against the backdrop of a trade war and sovereignty threats from U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump’s almost daily attacks on Canada’s sovereignty have left Canadians feeling betrayed.

"In this crisis caused by the U.S. president and those who are enabling him, we lament a friendship lost," Carney said. “In Gander Canadians did extraordinary things for Americans when they needed it. Now, we need to do extraordinary things for ourselves.”

Gander opened its arms to nearly 6,600 airline passengers diverted there when the U.S. government shut down airspace during 9/11.

In a matter of a few hours, the town population of 10,000 in 2001 was overwhelmed by 38 planeloads of travelers, yet locals went to work in their kitchens and cleaned up spare rooms to offer space and food to the newcomers.

When more than 200 flights were diverted to Canada following the attacks on the United States, the Canadians shunted the traffic away from Toronto and Montreal to the eastern seaboard.

Obscure, little-used Gander got to relive its glory days as a stopover point for trans-Atlantic aviation before long-distance flights became possible. Built in 1938 in anticipation of the coming world war, it had the world’s longest runway, and on 9/11 it was the second busiest, taking in 38 flights to Halifax, Nova Scotia’s 47.

Flight crews quickly filled Gander’s hotels, so passengers were taken to schools, fire stations and church halls. The Canadian military flew in 5,000 cots. Stores donated blankets, coffee machines, barbecue grills. Unable to retrieve their luggage, passengers became dependent on the kindness of strangers, and it came in the shape of clothes, showers, toys, banks of phones to call home free of charge, an arena that became a giant walk-in fridge full of donated food.

Once all the planes had landed or turned back to Europe, Gander’s air traffic controllers switched to cooking meals in the building nonstop for three days.

“More than 6,000 passengers. Overnight, the town’s population almost doubled,” Carney said during a speech to residents. “You showed friendship to people who were fearful. In a crisis, you showed your character. When people needed help, you gave it.”

On Monday, Carney visited the home of Beulah Cooper, who opened her home and comforted many, including Dennis and Hannah O’Rourke, an elderly couple whose New York firefighter son, Kevin, went missing at the World Trade Center and was later confirmed to have died there.

The O’Rourkes remained friends with Cooper long after and went back to Gander, saying they felt eternally indebted.

Now, Cooper says she feels betrayed by America, though she remains friends with Hannah O'Rourke, whose husband passed away. She also feels bad for her American friends.

“There’s too many bad words for me to say on the phone about what I think of Trump,” Cooper said. “Canada was the best ally they had."

Carney noted the Gander story of that day became legend, immortalized in the Canadian-made Broadway hit musical “Come from Away.”

Carney said Canadians have always been by Americans' side whether it was during the Iran hostage crisis, or more recently during the California wildfires or in Afghanistan, where Canada lost 158 members of the armed forces and seven civilians.

Trump has declared a trade war on his northern neighbor and continues to call for Canada to become the 51st state, a position that has infuriated Canadians. The American president has threatened economic coercion in his annexation threats and suggested the border is a fictional line.

Trump put 25% tariffs on Canada’s steel and aluminum and is threatening sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products — as well as all of America’s trading partners — on April 2.

Carney said Canadians are over the shock of the betrayal but now have to look out for themselves. He said Canadians and Americans have traditionally been like brothers.

"But that’s changed. And it wasn’t us who did the changing. Unfortunately, President Trump’s actions have put that kinship under greater strain today than at any point in our storied history,” Carney said.

Carney, at the start of a five-week election campaign before the vote on April 28, said he's not looking for friendship from the Americans. “I am just looking for respect at this point,” he said.

The new prime minister, sworn in March 14, still hasn’t had a phone call with Trump and suggested that might not happen until after the election. “I’m available for a call. But you know we are going to talk on our terms as a sovereign country, not as what he pretends we are,” Carney said.

He said the Americans are making a “fundamental mistake" in the trade war.

“They think they will weaken us. They think that they can own us quite frankly, that’s what they think,” he said. “We are going to get stronger. We are going to wait this out. They are going to come to the table and we are going to negotiate a good deal for Canadians.”

Canada Liberal Leader Mark Carney makes an announcement at the airport in Gander, Newfoundland, on Monday March 24, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada Liberal Leader Mark Carney shares a laugh with residents during a meet and greet at the airport in Gander Newfoundland, on Monday, March 24, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney meets with Beulah Cooper and Diane Davis, left, in Gander, N.L., on Monday March 24, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada Liberal Leader Mark Carney pauses while speaking at the airport in Gander, Newfoundland, on Monday March 24, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet launches his campaign with candidates in front of the U.S. consulate in Quebec City on Monday, March 24, 2025. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre appears at a federal election campaign event in Brampton, Ontario, on Monday, March 24, 2025. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada Liberal Leader Mark Carney arrives in Gander, Newfoundland, on Monday, March 24, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet, center, walks with candidate Caroline Desbiuens, right, to a news conference with candidates in Quebec City Monday, March 24, 2025. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is joined by his wife Anaida Poilievre and children Cruz and Valentina, as he talks with employees at Kruger Packaging during a federal election campaign event in Brampton, Ontario, on Monday, March 24, 2025. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada Liberal Leader Mark Carney arrives in Gander, Newfoundland, on Monday, March 24, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada NDP leader Jagmeet Singh hits the punching bag in an outdoor gym under a bridge after a campaign event during a federal election stop in Montreal on Monday, March 24, 2025. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre talks with employees at Kruger Packaging during a federal election campaign event in Brampton, Ontario, on Monday, March 24, 2025. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, right, laughs in the snow with his campaign wagon master Laura Ziemba, centre, after a event with supporters during a federal election campaign stop in Montreal on Monday, March 24, 2025. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, right, reacts with MP candidate Nima Machouf, left, as he attends a campaign event with supporters during a federal election campaign stop in Montreal on Monday, March 24, 2025. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney looks through a photo album with Beulah Cooper at her home in Gander, Newfoundland, Monday, March 24, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada Liberal Leader Mark Carney arrives in Gander, N.L., on Monday, March 24, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet launches his campaign with candidates in front of the USA consulate in Quebec City Monday, March 24, 2025. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney gets a hug from Beulah Cooper as he arrives at her house in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada, Monday, March 24, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.

Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.

“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.

"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.

Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.

Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.

Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.

At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.

Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.

Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.

After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.

“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”

Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.

Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.

His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.

“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”

Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.

FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)