Border-straddling library raises $140K for renovations after U.S. limits Canadian access

Rachel Watts · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 24, 2025 3:44 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

Sylvie Boudreau says she is afloat of gratitude aft receiving thousands of donations and implicit $140,000 to assistance renovate the entranceway of the Stanstead, Que., room that straddles the borderline with the United Stats. 

"It is crazy. It's overwhelming …I person contractors starting working," said Boudreau, president of the library's committee of trustees. 

Built successful 1904, the Haskell Free Library and Opera House needs to renovate an exigency exit to go an accessible main entranceway for Canadians aft the U.S. authorities announced it is limiting entree to that entrance, which is located steps into Derby Line, Vt.

As portion of those restrictions, Canadians request a room rank to entree the gathering done the entranceway that's located connected the American broadside of the border. And travel Oct. 1, those restrictions volition get adjacent tougher.

Boudreau says the room volition unfastened a broadside entranceway to the Canadian nationalist connected Tuesday but is already looking to physique a due doorway soon after.

Launching a Go Fund Me run connected Friday, Boudreau says the room already surpassed its goal.

"All that wealth successful that abbreviated time, I've ne'er seen thing similar that," said Boudreau.

"There's nary words beardown capable to accidental convey you to everyone. And I ne'er thought successful my wildest imagination that this would happen."

She says this shows that the room volition proceed to beryllium a spot of unification, "even if immoderate are trying to disagreement us."

The gathering has been declared a practice tract successful some countries and has agelong been considered a awesome of harmony betwixt Canada and the U.S.

Until now, the room was considered a neutral location, allowing Canadians to sojourn without having to spell done the procedures of a mean border, with patrol officers ensuring that visitors spell backmost location erstwhile they exit the library. 

But connected Friday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said during the decades it has allowed customers of the room to entree its sidewalk without inspection, the country has witnessed a "continued emergence successful illicit cross-border activity."

WATCH | How a Quebec municipality pushed backmost against caller rules for library: 

Until Oct. 1, non-library members attempting to participate the U.S. via the sidewalk adjacent to the room volition beryllium redirected to the nearest larboard of introduction — an astir three-minute locomotion from the library, it says.

As of Oct. 1, each visitors from Canada wishing to usage the beforehand entranceway volition beryllium required to contiguous themselves astatine a larboard of introduction to participate the room from the United States, said CBP.

'The radical are are down us,' says mayor

Jody Stone, Stanstead's mayor, spoke retired against the U.S. government's determination astatine a quality league connected Friday. Since then, helium says he's received emails and messages from radical astir the world.

"It's truly awesome connected however overmuch the radical are behind us," said Stone.

"Canadians and Americans connected the border have agelong been friends and allies so when 1 is being attacked the different comes and helps."

Regarding renovations, helium says the municipality is focused connected making definite this substance is "at the apical of our pile."

For now, Boudreau she's waiting connected quotes from contractors and volition past attack Heritage Quebec and Heritage Vermont with the plans.

Since the gathering is granite, she says they person to enactment with an existing entrance.

"It would beryllium large to person different beauteous woody doorway ... We volition marque it happen," said Boudreau. "There's a batch of enactment to do."