De Stiil Booksellers, a small independent bookstore nestled in the Plateau, is caught in the crossfire of an international trade war. In response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent tariffs on Canadian goods, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has promised to act “with force” by issuing counter-tariffs taxing American products.
While not included in the March 4 Canadian counter-tariffs, books were added to the list of commodities liable for further tariffs, a surprising move that led booksellers to, as De Stiil’s owner Aude Le Dubé put it, “freak out.”
As the situation unfolds, the future of De Stiil—and independent bookstores across Canada—remains uncertain.
But Le Dubé is determined not to let this affect her customers. When asked about the tariffs, she stressed that she would never raise prices by more than 10 per cent.
“I didn’t want to worry our customers,” she said in an interview with The Tribune. “This is our problem, not theirs.”
Though Le Dubé’s devotion to her customers is admirable, her store will absorb any extra costs, threatening already slim profit margins.
“I don’t know anything about bookselling, and I refuse to learn,” Le Dubé joked.
There is truth in her words; Le Dubé is not interested in maximizing profit, but in providing readers with a wonderful selection of curated literature and translations.
Though she may not know much about the business of bookselling, she certainly knows a lot about books. Originally from France, Le Dubé is wise, worldly, and well-dressed, her charisma outshone only by her humility. She effortlessly weaves apt quotations and spontaneous gems of wit into her warm, welcoming speech. Le Dubé reads every morning and prescribes this practice to others, a treatment for the chaotic whirlwind of life. And she doesn’t dog-ear her pages—“I use a bookmark,” she said, laughing. “Are you kidding?”
De Stiil Booksellers is a perfect reflection of its owner: Polished and inviting, intellectual and teeming with life. The store’s eclectic selection is curated by Le Dubé and her staff, giving it a personal identity that most bookstores lack. Le Dubé has high standards for her selection, guaranteeing that customers are met with mastery on every shelf—from Italian classics of yesteryear to newly published 700-page Catalan tomes, such as the one Le Dubé is currently reading.
For her, bookstores are the last standing technology-free third places in Canada.
“Where else are you going to sit for hours and talk to people and see life unfold around you? See people come and go, hear them talk and laugh?” she says.
Fittingly, De Stiil hosts a weekly “Page Break” event every Wednesday at 7 p.m. In the bookstore turned silent-reading sanctuary, guests pay a $5 CAD entry fee, hand over their phones, and enjoy a glass of wine while immersed in their book.
However, Le Dubé believes that the importance of books is not only their escapist potential. Amidst the rising global tide of violent jingoism and the seemingly endless effusion of negativity, literature’s power to foster empathy and share diverse perspectives is needed more than ever.
“I want people to read about other ways of thinking […] that’s the only way we’re going to change people to not get into a nationalistic whirlpool,” she said.
The best way to support independent bookstores such as De Stiil is to buy their books. But Le Dubé says she would never want anyone to feel obligated to purchase anything at her store.
“Come to the bookstore to be around people, to read, to be around books,” she said.
It is hard to imagine walking around De Stiil and not being overcome with a love for literature and an appreciation for its owner.
“I do believe in our mission as booksellers,” Le Dubé said. “I think we’re important […] [because we] can change something and people’s minds […] a little bit, one at a time.”
