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Border-straddling library inaugurates new Canadian entrance
The new door lets Canadians enter directly as the library says the project cost nearly $700,000 and drew donations from supporters worldwide.
- On Wednesday, the Haskell Free Library and Opera House inaugurated a new Canadian entrance in Stanstead, Quebec, allowing patrons to visit without crossing through a United States border checkpoint.
- The project followed a 2025 policy change by the Trump administration that barred Canadians from using the library's main entrance on the Vermont side, ending a century-old arrangement.
- Construction cost nearly $700,000, far exceeding initial $100,000 projections, with Haskell Board President Sylvie Boudreau noting that about $350,000 came from global donations and fundraising campaigns.
- Quebec Minister of International Relations and La Francophonie Christopher Skeete and Stanstead Mayor Jody Stone attended the ceremony, while U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders sent a video message.
- Boudreau called the opening "emotional," marking a permanent fix after the library previously used an emergency exit as a temporary entrance, reinforcing its role as a symbol of border cooperation.
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At a library on the northern border, Canadians and Americans hope a new door will reconnect neighbors - The Boston Globe
Last year, as tensions between the two nations escalated, US border officials closed an entrance to the Haskell Free Library & Opera House to Canadians who had not gone through customs.
·Boston, United States
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Canadians can now go to the Haskell Library and Opera Hall without passing through a U.S. border crossing, thanks to a new entrance on the Canadian side.
·Montreal, Canada
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources34
Leaning Left20Leaning Right2Center9Last UpdatedBias Distribution65% Left
Bias Distribution
- 65% of the sources lean Left
65% Left
L 65%
C 29%
Factuality
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