A library that literally straddles the U.S.-Canada border has become an unlikely focal point of the tensions reshaping the relationship between the two countries. The Haskell Free Library and Opera House, built in 1904 as a symbol of cross-border friendship, now requires Canadian visitors to enter through a newly installed back door, ending a 122-year-old tradition that allowed them to use the front entrance on the American side without passing through a border checkpoint.

The change, imposed by the Trump administration, has sparked a surge of curiosity. On a recent weekday afternoon, a steady stream of Canadians arrived during a two-week construction holiday, with staff reporting about 150 visitors by 3 p.m. on July 16. Among them was Trevor Vanderwier, a 39-year-old cabinetmaker from the Niagara Falls area, traveling with his wife and six kids in an RV. They had heard about the library through the World Watch news service. "They explained how you can cross the border legally without a passport as long as you stay in the building," Vanderwier said. "We thought, 'It sounds super cool.'"

The new entrance is just one of many ways President Trump is redefining America's relationship with its northern neighbor. On July 20, he announced a fresh round of tariffs on Canadian goods, from dairy and alcohol to hockey equipment. He has refused to renew the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement he struck in 2018, arguing the deal favors Canada too much. Trump has also complained that recent Canadian wildfires were "poisoning" the United States and threatened to seek damages. British Columbia Premier David Eby fired back: "At this point, I just feel sorry for Americans. If you're picking fights with Canadians, then you don't have a friend in the world."

The border itself has hardened. Side roads that once linked the towns of Stanstead, Quebec, and Derby Line, Vermont, are now cut off by barriers. U.S. Border Patrol agents and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police keep watch on anyone approaching the line. Last year, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem further tightened access when she told library officials that Canadians would have to use a separate door on their side. Noem then offended Canadians by jumping back and forth over the border line on the library floor while joking about Canada becoming the 51st U.S. state — a theme Trump has repeatedly echoed, including in a social media post on July 14.

"People get a lot of anxiety about it because Trump keeps talking about it," said Karine Cantin, owner of the Auberge Le Sunshyne bakery on the Stanstead side. "They want to tell Trump we do not agree with this. It's why a lot of Canadians don't go to the United States now. It's a political choice." The impact is measurable: Canadian tourist visits to Vermont have dropped 40% since Trump returned to the White House, state officials said. And the number of Canadians returning from the United States in February was 1.1 million, down 13% from 1.27 million in February 2025.

Vermont and Quebec officials unveiled the new Canadian entrance last month, positioning it as a defiant gesture of friendship. "Canadians didn't choose Donald Trump, and neither did Vermonters. But we do get to choose our friends," Vermont State Treasurer Mike Pieciak said in a statement. "At a time when Washington is needlessly straining relations with Canada, this new entrance sends a simple message: Vermont's friendship with Canada predates Donald Trump, and it will endure long after his presidency."

Inside the library, materials are offered in French and English, and the flags of both nations are prominently displayed. The American side sits in Derby Line, while the Canadian side sits in Stanstead. No physical barrier blocks people from walking across the border outside the library, although planters prevent vehicles from crossing, and border guards from both countries keep watch. Visitors can browse the stacks or attend upstairs opera performances without worrying about the border line taped on the floor. However, they must leave from the door they entered. Signs warn against holding meetings or cross-border reunions, which the Trump administration cited as a concern. In 2018, a Canadian man pleaded guilty to smuggling guns into Canada via the library by collecting bags of pistols stashed in the bathroom by his American partners.

The tightening of the library rules reflects the greater restrictions faced by community members who for generations treated the border as little more than an imaginary line. Pat Boisvert has lived on the American side for all of his 86 years and remembers running across Canusa Street as a kid to visit friends — a street he now must get permission to cross. "We'd roam all over the town and nobody cared," said Boisvert, a Vermonter who flies a Canadian flag from his house and a U.S. flag from his adjacent workshop. Pointing with his crutch, he showed the Canadian border post he's now supposed to check in with before walking across the street. He said he hopes Canada and the United States can one day rebuild the close relationship he remembers from childhood.

The border began tightening ahead of the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics and tightened again after 9/11. Trump restricted things further during his first term and again upon retaking the White House in 2025. Trump has said Canada needs to stop unlawful migration and drug trafficking. In contrast, Boisvert said he's inclined to help anyone he sees crossing the border in search of a better life. "If I did see someone coming across, I wouldn't call Border Patrol," he said. "I'd keep my mouth shut or probably give them directions."

On the Canadian side, Cantin, the bakery owner, said she's seen little evidence the border needs to be harder to cross. She occasionally sees harmless-looking people wandering into town and appearing lost, and presumed they had crossed illegally from the United States. She said the new library entrance seems like a waste of money, given that people from both sides can still enter without formally crossing the border. "We were so sad — it's like the same village but now it's not," she said. "But nobody wants to be the 51st state."