British Columbia Premier David Eby responded: “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.”
A hardened border now cuts off side roads that once linked Stanstead and Derby Line, a community located in Vermont. U.S. Border Patrol agents and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police keep tabs on anyone getting close to the line separating the countries.
Last year, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem further tightened the border when she told library officials that Canadians would have to start using a separate door from 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. Trump has repeatedly talked about annexing Canada, including as recently as July 14 in a social media post.
“People get a lot of anxiety about it because Trump keeps talking about it,” said Karine Cantin, owner of the Auberge Le Sunshine bakery on the Stanstead side of the border. “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.”
Canadian tourist visits to Vermont have dropped 40% since Trump retook the White House, state officials said.
Meanwhile, the number of Canadians returning from the United States in February was 1.1 million — a drop of 13% from 1.27 million in February 2025.
A sticker for the U.S. Border Patrol displayed inside the border-spanning Haskell Free Library and Opera House that sits in both Derby Line, Vermont and Stanstead, Quebec, as seen on July 16.
Trevor Hughes, USA Today
Canadian and Vermont officials unveiled the Haskell library’s new Canadian entrance last month, saying they hope the building remains a bastion of international 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.”