“Twenty-five years ago, on a clear September morning, an ordinary day became one of history’s darkest.

Nearly 3,000 people – among them 24 Canadians – were killed in the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil. Thousands were wounded. Countless more have carried the pain of that day with them ever since.

Twenty-five years on, our grief has not faded – and neither has our resolve to stand against hatred and terrorism. Today, we remember every life that was taken and those whose lives were changed forever.

Canadians stand with our American neighbours in mourning, remembrance, and solidarity.

That morning showed us what hatred can destroy. The hours, the days, and the years that followed showed us something stronger. The worst of times brought forth our better natures.

Firefighters climbed the stairwells of burning buildings to reach those trapped above. Rescue and recovery workers dug through the ruins for days and weeks to bring the missing home.

And when American skies closed, our government accepted 224 planes without hesitation, which landed in 17 of our airports across Canada. Gander – a town of 10,000 – took in nearly 7,000 stranded strangers. Community members stepped up to offer a bed, a hot meal, and a phone call home. They asked for nothing in return.

Their generosity was infectious. As a young girl wrote to Beulah Cooper, one of the many Newfoundlanders who assisted passengers that day, “your kindness motivates me to use my kindness.”

That is how goodness spreads.

Our response did not end there. For the first time in its history, NATO invoked Article 5 – an attack on one is an attack on all. More than 40,000 Canadians served in Afghanistan in the years that followed. One hundred and fifty-eight members of the Canadian Armed Forces did not come home, along with a diplomat, a journalist, and two aid workers. Canadians stood above and along the Highway of Heroes to honour them.

To serve one another – a neighbour, a stranger, a community in need – is the truest answer to those who would divide us. That is the spirit we mark today, on the National Day of Service.

We will never forget those who never came home, the courage of those who ran toward the danger, and the small acts of kindness that brought light to the darkest of days.

And may we never forget that, 25 years on, the truest tribute is to serve – to look after the stranger amongst us simply because help is needed.

Now and always, we will never forget.”