2040 Northwest Angle referendum



The 2040 Northwest Angle referendum was a referendum held on November 6, 2040 in the Northwest Angle, Minnesota, United States. The Northwest Angle, a piece of land isolated from the rest of the United States by the Lake of the Woods and the only significant piece of the contiguous United States north of the 49th parallel at the time, voted to secede from the United States and join the Canadian province of Manitoba. The referendum was approved after almost a decade of political lobbying by local politicians. The referendum was fairly controversial; the indigenous Red Lake tribe held most of the Angle's land and was generally anti-secession but did not make up the majority of the Angle's population, which was split on the issue. The referendum was ultimately approved after several rounds of negotiations with the Red Lake reservation and Angle residents, as well as the United States and Canadian governments, in the late 2030s. The referendum appeared on the 2040 ballot along with the concurrent presidential election and other statewide/local elections.

Results
The Northwest Angle voted to leave the state of Minnesota and the United States for the Canadian province of Manitoba by a margin of 30 votes out of 110 cast (64%-36%.) Some residents left the Angle for the surrounding communities of Warroad and Baudette before the change took effect on January 1, 2041; however, all residents of the Angle in November 2040 were given dual American-Canadian citizenship if not already held.