MacKay said he invited Rice to his home province of Nova Scotia after their first meeting in April this year.

Nova Scotians played host to thousands of stranded American travellers on Sept. 11, 2001, when their planes were forced to land in Halifax after all flights were grounded.

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said earlier on Friday that Rice wanted to express gratitude on behalf of Americans, according to a report by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

"Secretary Rice wanted to go to Canada on Sept. 11 as a way of thanking Canada and the Canadian people for all that they did on that day," McCormack said.

After attending memorial functions in Washington, Rice is expected to attend an event at the Halifax International Airport on Monday and spend Tuesday in MacKay's home riding of Pictou County.