After CBC's 9/11 Memo, FBI Briefly Froze Canadian Ties

The FBI briefly put a chill on part of its relationship with Canada—and the trigger was the way a broadcaster described 9/11. Multiple officials tell the New York Times that Director Kash Patel paused some cooperation with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police after learning that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation had reminded its staff members not to call the Sept. 11 attacks "terrorism" unless they attributed the term to an expert or authority.

The move, which did not affect other US intelligence-sharing channels, led to canceled meetings and a short-lived freeze in some FBI-RCMP work, including on terrorism and cybersecurity, the officials said. Patel had publicly blasted the CBC guidance in late August on X, warning that any Canadian agency that did not denounce it would "no longer have friend in this FBI." CBC swiftly revised its internal memo to allow journalists to refer to 9/11 terrorism without attribution, and the FBI pause ended around the anniversary of the attacks. The bureau declined to comment; the RCMP, calling the US relationship vital to national security, referred questions back to the FBI. The full Times report can be found here.