The FBI temporarily halted some cooperation with the RCMP this month after a leaked CBC internal memo advised journalists not to describe the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks as terrorism without attribution, the New York Times reported this week, citing multiple unnamed officials.
According to the Times, FBI Director Kash Patel ordered the pause around the 25th anniversary of the attacks, and some meetings between American and Canadian security officials were cancelled as a result. Patel also criticized the CBC guidance publicly, calling it a “bastardization of history” and warning that any Canadian agency that did not reject the policy “will no longer have (a) friend in this FBI.”
CBC circulated the memo ahead of its Sept. 11 coverage this year, instructing staff to attribute characterizations of the attacks as terrorism to a source rather than stating it outright in the broadcaster’s own voice. CBC reversed the guidance on Aug. 28, after the memo drew public criticism, clarifying that no direct attribution is required to describe the 2001 attacks as terrorism.
RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme said Friday the force’s ties with international partners remain solid. “We value our relationship with our U.S. counterparts, as we work closely to respond to” national security threats, Duheme said, according to the CBC, without directly addressing the reported disruption in cooperation.
A spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, Simon Lafortune, offered a similar message, saying the government remains “grateful for the service of Canadian and American law enforcement personnel.”
Neither the RCMP nor Public Safety Canada has confirmed the specifics laid out in the Times report. The rift appears to have been short-lived, with cooperation between the two agencies reported to have resumed in the days since.
The episode is the latest flashpoint in a Canada-U.S. relationship that has been strained through much of 2026, with friction already running high over tariffs, Arctic security and defence spending under President Donald Trump’s administration. It also comes as Canadian police and intelligence agencies continue to depend on U.S. information sharing for counterterrorism work and cross-border investigations, making any interruption, however brief, a matter of concern for security officials on both sides of the border.
CBC has not detailed publicly how the FBI’s reported response affected its operations, and the public broadcaster has faced criticism from some Canadian commentators over the original memo’s wording, separate from the American reaction. The Times report was the first to connect Patel’s public criticism of CBC to an actual pause in FBI-RCMP cooperation, rather than commentary alone.
Anandasangaree’s office did not say whether the minister had spoken directly with American officials about the matter.
