The terror attacks certainly affected many more Canadians. In the hours immediately after the attacks, Newfoundlanders in Gander took in some 6,000 strangers who arrived in town as a result of diverted flights. Another 100,000 Canadians attended a national day of mourning on Parliament Hill to express sorrow and solidarity over 9/11.

A more ominous sign appeared two days after 9/11, when the lineup of trucks trying to enter Detroit over the Ambassador Bridge at Windsor backed up 36 kilometres. It was a sharp reminder of the crucial trade relationship between Canada and the U.S., which has been estimated at $2 billion a day, both ways. There are 200 million border crossings a year.

The long-term results of 9/11 are still coming in, still impacting relations between the United States – the world�s lone superpower – and Canada, long regarded as America�s best friend, biggest trading partner and staunchest ally. The relationship has been strained, especially as we psyche ourselves for what looks like an almost certain invasion of Iraq. Some of this might reflect a personality clash between Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and U.S. President George W. Bush. Some might reflect a touchiness south of the border that we�re not as pro-American as we should be.

There was some of this attitude in the 1960s, when draft-dodgers and deserters trudged north into Canada to escape the war in Vietnam, but the U.S. didn�t push us to join in the fighting, or even scold us for not backing American involvement in the war. In 2003, Paul Cellucci, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, actually lectured Canada on its insufficient military budget. This may be why Finance Minister John Manley is expected to increase Canada�s military spending by $2 billion in his February budget.

Feathers began to be ruffled on both sides of the Canada/U.S. border within days of 9/11. There was the perceived slight when Bush thanked nearly the entire free world without once mentioning Canada. As for the �friendly-fire� killings, Bush waited several days before expressing regrets over the four Canadians killed (and only after a reporter encountered him on a golf course).

Then, late in 2002, Françoise Ducros, one of Chrétien�s�s top aides, referred to Bush as �a moron.�

Last December, after CBC News Online ran a story on Canadians going to Baghdad to be �human shields� in the event of a U.S.-led attack on Iraq, we received a flurry of angry letters from south of the border. A sample of their anger:

• From Jasper, Georgia: Poor Canadians. If we don�t get to destroy Jihad forces in Iraq we�ll do it when they hit our beaches. Not so easy for you unarmed Canadians and your pathetic military. You�ll all die, gun control sucks don�t it?
• From Baltimore: My wife and I were planning a trip to the Atlantic coast provinces of Canada for late spring 2003. In light of the Canadian citizens who plan to use themselves as �human shields� against Saddam, we have decided to vacation elsewhere. Our preference will be a country free of such morons.
• From Cleveland: I sincerely hope the human shields protecting Saddam Hussein are the first to be killed when we invade Iraq. Nobody murders 3,000 Americans without retribution! Mess with the best, die like the rest!

No matter that Canada contributed to the U.S.-led campaign against terror in Afghanistan, with the Princess Patricia�s Canadian Light Infantry and our elite Joint Task Force 2 joining in the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaeda. No matter that four Canadian soldiers were killed in a �friendly-fire� accident when a U.S. laser-guided bomb exploded on them in a nighttime training exercise.

Significant post 9/11 events: Sept. 12, 2001: Bush calls World Trade Center attacks �acts of war,� asks Congress for $20 billion for recovery, asks allies for support. NATO declares terrorism an attack on all 19 member states.

Sept. 14: Bush gives military authority to call up 50,000 reservists.

Sept. 18: Taliban leaders call on Muslims to wage holy war if U.S. attacks.

Sept. 24: Bush orders U.S. financial institutions to freeze assets of 27 groups and individuals suspected of supporting terrorists.

Oct. 2: Canada introduces legislation to block financing of terrorists and freeze assets of individuals linked to terrorist groups.

Oct. 8: Canada contributes six navy ships, six aircraft and 2,000 soldiers to U.S.-led coalition.

Oct. 12: Canadian immigration officials given greater power to detain or deport anyone suspected of entering country illegally. New immigrants get special plastic Maple Leaf card.

Nov. 13: Northern Alliance troops enter Kabul.

Nov. 14: 1,000 of Canada�s PPCLI soldiers put on 48-hour alert for action in Afghanistan.

Dec. 12: Foreign Minister John Manley and U.S. Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge sign �Canada-U.S. Smart Border Declaration.�

Jan. 29, 2002: Defence Minister Art Eggleton says Canada�s JTF2 handed over Afghanistan prisoners to U.S. forces without assurances they would be treated as prisoners of war.

March 13: 500 Canadian troops launch Operation Harpoon to search for Taliban and al-Qaeda soldiers in eastern Afghanistan.

April 1: Canada�s new Air Travellers Security Charges begin, passengers pay $12 one-way, $24 for round trip within Canada.

April 18: Four Canadian soldiers killed, eight injured in �friendly-fire� incident.

June 28: Loya Jirga completes work on new government in Afghanistan.

Aug. 15: Families of several Canadians killed in 9/11 attacks join trillion-dollar, class-action lawsuit launched by 600 family members against Saudi officials.

Sept. 7: A CBC/ Toronto Star/ La Presse poll by Ekos Research suggests that 52 per cent of Canadians agree that relations between Canada and the U.S. are worse than they were a year earlier, 38 per cent believe relations are the same, and seven per cent believe relations between the two countries have improved.

The same poll asked who�s the biggest threat to world peace, President Bush or Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein? The results: Saddam (56 per cent), Bush (38 per cent).

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