In the aftermath of September 11th, it became apparent that North America was no longer insulated from the threats that it had once assumed would never reach its borders. Canadians were equally startled as they came to recognize, literally for the first time in their lives and in the history of their country, that their freedom and safety were in jeopardy. This revelation is particularly poignant in a nation that tends to take its national security for granted, relying almost exclusively on its benevolent neighbor to ward off threats. This ambivalence however quickly evaporated following the terrorists attacks as Canadians came to realize that a threat upon the U.S. was ostensibly a threat to Canada. Security took on a wholly new emphasis and the calls to come to the defense of the U.S. and North America were resounding.