STANSTEAD, CANADA — For more than a century, Canadians could quietly cross an international border to check out a book at the Haskell Free Library and Opera House, which straddles the border with Vermont. That suddenly changed last year when U.S. border officials demanded Canadians go through an official checkpoint before entering the building’s front door, which sits on American soil in Derby Line.
But in a small rebuke of President Donald Trump’s provocations toward Canada and as a gesture of friendship between neighbors, the library on Wednesday opened a new entrance on the Canadian side of the border.
“We are just one people, we are just one community, so we don’t care where you’re coming from,” said Sylvie Boudreau, president of the library’s board of trustees, in an interview.
The door represents the community’s dedication to continuing its neighborly relationships across the border despite new tensions between the two countries. The unveiling comes as Vermont has continued to see a major decline in Canadian tourism, a costly price to pay for President Trump’s tariffs on Canada and his talk of making the country the “51st state.”
On the lawn behind the library, about 50 people gathered on Canadian soil Wednesday to hear from speakers including library board members, local Canadian officials, Vermont’s congressional delegation and the state treasurer.
Wearing a pin with the American and Canadian flags, Boudreau explained how she started working on the door last April, after she heard from American border officials in March 2025 that Canadians would no longer be able to walk into the library without going through a proper checkpoint.
Stanstead Mayor Jody Stone told the crowd that building the door was a response to the pain, frustration and sense of injustice the community felt when they heard the changes would be coming.
“It’s a living symbol of what we can accomplish when we choose openness over closure,” Stone said.
One man in the crowd, Clement Jacqeues, wore a bright red baseball cap that read “Canada is not for sale.”
Jacqeues, who lives down the road from the library, said he saw the hat on television after Ontario’s premier wore one shortly after Trump imposed tariffs on Canada in January of last year.
Jacqeues said he bought it the next day.
The Quebecer said he’s friends with many Americans, such as his curling buddies. But since the beginning of Trump’s second term, he no longer travels around the U.S.
“Why should we bring Canadian money to the U.S. economy?” he said.
And Jacques isn’t the only one posing that question.
Canadian tourism has been on the decline since Trump took office in 2025. About 750,000 Canadians visit Vermont each year, contributing about $150 million to the state’s economy, according to data from the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing. And although Canadians account for about 5% of tourists statewide, they account for over 30% of tourists to the state’s northern counties.
As Vermont heads into summer — a time when state data shows Canadian tourists typically spend the most money — recent state data and local accounts suggest the decline in tourism is likely to continue. Canadian credit card spending was down about 50% this March compared to March of 2024, according to Vermont’s most recent public data.
Garrett Moylan, who owns the store All About Home on Main Street in Newport, said that last summer he saw a huge decrease in Canadians coming into his store and putzing around downtown.
“We miss their traffic in town,” he said, noting the city has felt much quieter without them.
Just down the hill from Moylan’s store sits the Newport City Dock along Lake Memphremegog, which spans into Canada.
Harbormaster Richard Story said he estimates there’s been a 15% decline in Canadians who tie up at slips on the dock or come to fuel up.
Among Canadians who live in Steadstead close to the library, Boudreau, the library president, said she sees Canadians in the community divided over whether to visit the U.S.
“We have people who will not cross the border anymore,” she said.
In addition to making an economic decision not to travel, some Canadians are scared by the act of crossing, said Boudreau, who formerly worked for the Canadian Border Services Agency for 20 years.
Vermont State Treasurer Mike Pieciak, who attended the library event, said that while he understands why Canadians don’t want to visit the U.S., he sees Vermont as a place that does not share Trump’s agenda — and wants Canadians to see that, too.
“In many ways, by supporting Vermont, you’re supporting this resistance against Donald Trump,” Pieciak said.
