WASHINGTON, D.C. — After centuries of vague geographic placement and frequent misidentification, Canada has finally been welcomed as the 51st state of the United States, officials confirmed Wednesday.

“We honestly just assumed it already was part of the U.S.,” said the President at a press conference, shaking hands with newly minted Governor. “Every time we looked at a map, it was just sitting right there on top of us like a big ol’ Minnesota. Made sense to make it official.”

The decision, finalized by a unanimous congressional vote, was met with mixed reactions from Canadian citizens, many of whom expressed mild surprise while sipping Tim Hortons coffee.

“Well, I guess that explains why Americans kept asking me what part of the States I was from,” said Toronto resident Heather MacDonald. “I always just thought they were bad at geography but turns out they were just ahead of the curve.”

As part of the transition, several changes will take effect immediately: the Canadian dollar will be replaced by the U.S. dollar, hockey will now be considered ‘America’s Other Sport,’ and the phrase “eh” will be rebranded as an official Southern dialect variation of “y’all.”

Meanwhile, the state’s name remains in question, with options such as ‘North Montana,’ ‘America Jr.,’ and ‘Upper Michigan’ being floated.

At press time, the White House announced plans to begin negotiations with Greenland, which has long been viewed as “basically ours already.”