The Town of Gander, N.L., says its invitation to United States Ambassador Pete Hoekstra to attend a Sept. 11 commemoration next week followed diplomatic protocol and was not an endorsement of the ambassador or his views, according to a town council news release issued Friday and reported by The Canadian Press.
Hoekstra is among a list of dignitaries expected at the town’s commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. In its release, the council said it understands that Canadians are frustrated by ongoing tensions with Washington, but asked residents to set those tensions aside for the ceremony. “There are times when we will disagree. There are also times when we have to recognize that something is bigger than those differences,” the release said. “For Gander, September 11 is one of those times.”
Gander’s connection to the attacks is the reason the guest list drew national attention. Thirty-eight planes made emergency landings at the town’s airport after U.S. airspace closed on Sept. 11, 2001, and residents fed, clothed and housed more than 6,500 stranded passengers over the following days. That response became the basis for the musical “Come From Away.”
News of Hoekstra’s attendance prompted strong reactions online, The Canadian Press reported, including a piece in the satirical outlet The Beaverton headlined “Come from Away sequel will see Newfoundlanders put the friggin’ boots to Pete Hoekstra.”
The reaction is tied to a House of Commons e-petition that has become one of the most heavily signed in recent memory. Petition e-7531, initiated by Calgary resident Leanne Walker and sponsored by Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, had drawn 266,759 validated signatures as of Saturday, according to the House of Commons petitions website. The petition opened for signature July 21 and closes Nov. 18.
The petition makes three requests of the federal government: that it formally declare Hoekstra persona non grata and request his removal as ambassador, that it raise with the United States what the petition calls a pattern of conduct inconsistent with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and that it direct a parliamentary committee to review U.S. diplomatic interference in Canadian domestic affairs.
The grounds listed on the petition text include Hoekstra’s characterization of the 2025 Canadian federal election as “anti-American,” his description of U.S. President Donald Trump’s talk of annexing Canada as the 51st state as a “term of endearment,” and his links to a Michigan-based voter identification app used by the Alberta separatist Centurion Project, which the petition says he claimed no knowledge of. The petition also cites three meetings between the Alberta Prosperity Project and U.S. State Department officials between April 2025 and January 2026.
Signatures came from every province and territory, led by Ontario with 115,012, British Columbia with 53,840, Alberta with 29,108 and Quebec with 28,823, the Commons site shows. Newfoundland and Labrador, where Gander sits, accounted for 3,111.
An e-petition carries no legal force and cannot compel the government to expel a foreign envoy. Once May presents it in the House, however, the government is required to table a written response within 45 days. May has said she would be astonished if Ottawa moved to expel Hoekstra, CBC News reported.
Hoekstra said earlier in the week that he was attending “not just on behalf of those who were stranded, but for an entire nation that remains moved by Gander’s generosity,” adding in an emailed statement that he looked forward to “meeting many of those who opened their hearts and homes and honouring the enduring bond built that week.” His office did not immediately reply to a request for comment Friday, The Canadian Press said.
The ambassador has drawn repeated criticism in Canada for dismissing the “elbows up” campaign against U.S. tariffs and for expressing irritation at how Canadians have responded to Trump’s annexation rhetoric. The commemoration falls in the middle of a deteriorating trade relationship. Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on American goods take effect Sept. 8, and Trump has said U.S. tariffs on Canadian vehicles, auto parts and steel will rise to 50 per cent on Jan. 1, 2027.
Gander’s council closed its release by asking that the focus stay on the ceremony itself. “We are not asking anyone to change how they feel or what they believe,” it said, adding that attention should remain on “the nearly 3,000 lives lost, the people forever affected by September 11, and the humanity that brought people together here 25 years ago.”
