Are we still friends? US-Canada border towns face a strange new reality.
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Sarah Matusek Staff writer
| Derby Line, Vt; and Stanstead, Quebec
It鈥檚 the end of an era for a library straddling the Vermont-Quebec border. The Haskell Free Library & Opera House, a century-old symbol of cross-border friendship, says the U.S. government is setting new protocols that limit Canadians鈥� entry to the building that鈥檚 partly on their turf.
Canadian officials and library leaders held an English-French press conference on the Quebec side Friday afternoon to highlight the library鈥檚 legacy. Sylvie Boudreau, president of the library board, took a moment to squash rumors that people of both nations could no longer socialize inside.
鈥淣o,鈥� she said. 鈥淚nside the library is business as usual.鈥�
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onIn Vermont and Quebec, residents are confronting a rupture in their close relationship, including at a historic library situated across the border. Some Canadians are canceling their trips to New England or avoiding the United States altogether.
Still, altering library access is the latest American affront felt by Canadians. President Donald Trump has launched a trade war with , and is threatening more April 2. He鈥檚 also claiming Canada is meant to be the 51st state.
As maple syrup season kicks off, Washington鈥檚 rhetoric is souring relations in this border region that鈥檚 long held close economic and cultural ties. But not all amity is lost. Several Vermonters interviewed here voice support for their neighbors to the north, while some in Quebec are distinguishing between a people and their president.
鈥淚鈥檓 boycotting the U.S. I鈥檓 not boycotting the people necessarily,鈥� says Daniele Del Torto, who has decided not to shop or recreate there. The Stanstead resident says she wants to 鈥渟upport the solidarity鈥� of her border town.
Fraying of ties
The Trump White House is spurring patriotism in Canadians. As they begin to boycott U.S. goods and tourism, some of their cities are removing American flags. Bestselling Canadian novelist Louise Penny this month that she was moving the launch of her next book from Washington, D.C., to Ottawa, Ontario, and refraining from events in the United States due to 鈥渢he ongoing threat of an unprovoked trade war against Canada.鈥� She suggested her book tour could end at the border library.
Polls show most Canadians and Americans oppose President Trump鈥檚 assertion that Canada should be the 51st U.S. state. Ninety percent of Canadians said they would vote against Canada joining the U.S., and 60% of Americans have 鈥渘o interest鈥� in the idea, according to a recent by the Angus Reid Institute, a Canadian research nonprofit.
Tariff threats are also alarming Canadians, particularly in Quebec, where more than are sent to the U.S. In a mid-March , 51% of respondents from Quebec said tariffs, Mr. Trump, and U.S. economic aggression were the top issues facing Canada.
Like most of the 5,525-mile international boundary, parts of the woodsy border between Derby Line, Vermont, and Stanstead, Quebec, don鈥檛 have barriers. The binational library鈥檚 entrance is in Vermont. Border agents have allowed Canadians to enter the building easily via a sidewalk, heavily surveilled, that starts in Quebec. Signs warn against loitering; family reunions aren鈥檛 allowed. Canadian visitors have needed to exit the way they came and not venture farther into the U.S.
It鈥檚 a federal crime to enter the U.S. outside official ports of entry. The library has posed security challenges before, including a from the U.S. to Canada that involved the library bathroom.
Now, the Trump administration decided it was time to act.聽In a written statement, a spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the area around the Haskell library 鈥渉as witnessed a continued rise in illicit cross border activity.鈥� To meet a goal of 鈥�100% border security,鈥� the agency plans to make changes to the library鈥檚 access in stages.
By Oct. 1, most Canadians wishing to enter by the main door in the U.S. will need to use an official port of entry. One is located less than a half-mile away. Exceptions will be provided for several groups, including law enforcement and school groups, who can continue using the informal sidewalk entrance.
Other U.S. officials have also cited security risks. 鈥淒rug traffickers and smugglers were exploiting the fact that Canadians could use the U.S. entrance without going through customs,鈥� said Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a written statement. 鈥淲e are ending such exploitation by criminals and protecting Americans.鈥�
The library plans to open a new entrance on the Quebec side the week of March 24 by converting an emergency exit, said Deborah Bishop, Haskell鈥檚 executive director.
鈥淚鈥檓 embarrassed for my country. And I apologize,鈥� said a teary-eyed Vermonter, Penny Thomas, outside the library Friday afternoon.
After the fatal shooting of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Vermont in January, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem paid Haskell library a visit. Inside, she stepped back and forth across a black-tape border on the library floor, saying 鈥淯.S.A. No. 1鈥� and 鈥渢he 51st state,鈥� which locals took as an insult, The Boston Globe.
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How locals are responding
While not a Trump supporter, Debbie Latta, a dual U.S. Canadian citizen who now lives in Vermont, says she can get behind the president鈥檚 border security and shrinking-of-government plans.
Yet his 51st state rhetoric is 鈥渃hildish and humiliating and disgraceful,鈥� she says at a Newport gym, as players whack a pickleball behind her. In the winter, she organizes games here, which nationals of both countries attend.
Fellow pickleball player and U.S. citizen Real Cotnoir, who has Canadian family, voted for Mr. Trump. But he thinks tough tariffs on Canada will boomerang back and hurt his own economy.
鈥淎re we making them a state to take their resources?鈥� the U.S. Navy veteran wonders aloud. 鈥淥r are we making them a state to make them better for themselves and us?鈥�
Some Canadians, like James Eckerman, won鈥檛 let politics get in the way of good fun. An avid skier, he鈥檚 soaking up a few days on the slopes of Vermont.
Americans 鈥渉ave a lot to offer the world,鈥� he says, ski goggles in hand. 鈥淚 just try not to let the politics affect my individual life.鈥�
Still, Mr. Trump鈥檚 rhetoric 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 feel great,鈥� says the mechanic from Toronto. His people are patriotic, he says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e happy, like, being Canadians.鈥�
He chose Jay Peak to ski. The year-round resort reports at least half of its 500,000 annual visitors come from Canada. President and general manager Steve Wright took to last month with a message of support for the resort鈥檚 鈥渆xtended Canadian family.鈥� He was starting to see Canadian cancellations following the start of tariff talk.
鈥淲e do empathize with you Canadians that this is a difficult decision,鈥� says Mr. Wright. While Canadians are still visiting and lodging at his resort, he says they鈥檙e 鈥渃learly spending less money than they ever have鈥� once they arrive.
One Facebook commenter called on Vermont to join Canada instead.
鈥淭his beautiful place鈥�
Back over the border in Stanstead, some locals have terse words.
鈥淚鈥檓 not impressed with Trump at all,鈥� says Martha Ruck, pausing on a walk with her great-granddaughter. 鈥淲e鈥檒l never be the 51st state.鈥�
Since Mr. Trump鈥檚 inauguration, Ms. Del Torto, in Stanstead, has noticed more patrolling on the U.S. side. Crossing over to the library earlier this week, she says she felt compelled to bring her passport. That鈥檚 unusual for her. Once inside, she turned pensive.
鈥淚 was sitting there, and I鈥檓 looking at this beautiful place 鈥� and I said, 鈥業 hope this is not the end.鈥欌��
