Northern Minnesota community cut off by Canadian border restrictions faces another month of 'crisis'
On Tuesday, Canada extended its border restrictions until May 21, according to Public Safety Minister Bill Blair. Only essential travel will be permitted across Canada's border with the U.S., reports Reuters, continuing restrictions that have been in place since March 2020.
Canadian border restrictions have proven disastrous for residents of Minnesota's Northwest Angle, a geographical oddity surrounded on three sides by Canada, with a body of water on the fourth side. The Angle's only connection to land is its border with Canada's Manitoba province, but due to a surveyor's error, it's considered the northernmost part of Minnesota. As Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-Minn.) explained in a Star Tribune op-ed, border restrictions have cut the 120-odd residents off from friends and family in the U.S. hoping to visit by road, devastated the local fishing lodges and other tourist attractions, and made it nearly impossible for residents to buy groceries or receive medical care without risking being stranded away from their homes.
Residents have pleaded with Canadian officials to open the 80-kilometer passage in Manitoba to allow tourists into the Angle, reports CBC News. Tourism has been deemed non-essential in Canada's border restrictions, but in the tourism-based economy of the Northwest Angle, it's about as essential as it gets. Beyond business concerns, residents report being separated from their families while waiting days for negative results from molecular COVID-19 tests.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"With the eyes of the national media focused on the chaos at America's southern border, few have any idea this problem exists," writes Fischbach. "But the northern border is in crisis, too."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Spain's love of sunflower seeds is wrecking its football stadiums
Under the Radar One club controversially bans 'national vice' as discarded 'pipas' shells block drains and erode concrete
-
Today's political cartoons - May 11, 2025
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - shark-infested waters, Mother's Day, and more
-
5 fundamentally funny cartoons about the US Constitution
Cartoons Artists take on Sharpie edits, wear and tear, and more
-
British warship repels 'largest Houthi attack to date' in the Red Sea
Speed read Western allies warn of military response to Iranian-backed Yemeni rebels if attacks on ships continue
-
Houthi rebels claim Red Sea ship attacks
speed read Iran-backed Yemeni group vows to escalate aggression towards Israel-linked vessels in revenge for Gaza war
-
Israel plans next phase of Gaza war as first hostages released
Speed read After four-day ceasefire 'we will not stop' until destruction of Hamas, says Israel
-
Mob storms Russian airport 'looking for Jews'
Speed Read Plane from Israel surrounded by rioters chanting antisemitic slogans after landing in Russia's Dagestan region
-
Tuberville's military promotions block is upending lives, combat readiness, 3 military branch chiefs say
Speed Read
-
Ukraine's counteroffensive is making incremental gains. Does it matter in the broader war?
Speed Read
-
US commissions first-ever Navy ship in a foreign port
Speed Read
-
British spy chief, Wagner video suggest Prigozhin is alive and freely 'floating around'
Speed Read