Montreal, Canada – US President Donald Trump’s administration is reducing off Canada’s essential entry level to a historical library that straddles the border between the Canadian province of Quebec and the US state of Vermont.
In a joint assertion late on Thursday, the Quebec border city of Stanstead and the Haskell Free Library and Opera Home stated america had made the “unilateral resolution to shut the principle Canadian entry” to the constructing.
“This closure not solely compromises Canadian guests’ entry to a historic image of cooperation and concord between the 2 nations but in addition weakens the spirit of cross-border collaboration that defines this iconic location,” they stated.
“Moreover, it necessitates vital infrastructure changes to adjust to new constraints.”
The transfer comes amid hovering tensions between the US and Canada over Trump’s repeated threats to annex his nation’s northern neighbour, in addition to the imposition of steep tariffs on Canadian items.
“Stories of Trump closing off Canadians’ entry to the Haskell Free Library & Opera Home are troubling, and if true an escalation in his rhetoric towards our neighbor & ally,” US Senator Peter Welch of Vermont stated in a submit on X.
“Vermont loves Canada. This shared cultural establishment celebrates a partnership between our two nations.”
Stories of Trump closing off Canadians’ entry to the Haskell Free Library & Opera Home are troubling, and if true an escalation in his rhetoric towards our neighbor & ally.
Vermont loves Canada. This shared cultural establishment celebrates a partnership between our two nations.…
— Senator Peter Welch (@SenPeterWelch) March 21, 2025
First opened in 1905, a yr after the Opera Home, the Haskell Free Library was purposely constructed in each the US and Canada in a present of solidarity between residents of the then-porous border space.
The border bisects the constructing, and a line of black tape runs throughout the library’s essential entrance corridor and kids’s studying room, delineating the dividing line.
The principle entrance is on the US facet of the frontier, and to get into the constructing, Canadians have been in a position to stroll throughout the border through a sidewalk and head for the entrance door.
Passports are usually not required however the library tells guests to count on their actions to be monitored and to hold identification.
In an e-mail to Al Jazeera on Friday, a spokesperson for US Customs and Border Safety (CBP) confirmed that the Trump administration was rolling out a brand new, “phased strategy” to library entry amid a “rise in illicit cross border exercise”.
Till October 1, Haskell Free Library members from Canada will nonetheless be allowed to make use of the sidewalk to succeed in the constructing’s essential entrance on the US facet if they’ll show their membership, the spokesperson stated.
Nonetheless, after that date, all Canadian guests might want to cross into the US at a proper port of entry with the intention to entry the library through the entrance door.
Amid Trump’s threats towards Canada, in late January, US Secretary of Homeland Safety Kristi Noem made an unannounced go to to the library.
Deborah Bishop, Haskell’s govt director, advised Canadian outlet CTV Information that Noem stood on the US facet and stated “USA primary” throughout a tour of the constructing.
“After which [she] crossed the road and stated, ‘The 51st state’,” Bishop stated, in reference to Trump’s continued push to make Canada right into a US state.
“She did this on three events. There was no point out of Canada, simply ‘the 51st state’,” Bishop advised CTV, including that the feedback had been poorly acquired by folks on the library.
“We welcomed her civilly and respect, and I feel she ought to have reacted in the identical means. She was in Canada. I imply, whenever you step over that line, you might be technically in Canada. So possibly be respectful in the direction of the folks within the room who’re Canadian.”
Canadian leaders have rejected Trump’s push to annex the nation, with Prime Minister Mark Carney final week calling the concept “loopy”.
Carney has stated he’s keen to fulfill with the Trump administration to debate tariffs and different insurance policies however provided that Canada’s sovereignty is revered.
