Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday said President Donald Trump’s talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state is “a real thing” and is linked to the country’s rich natural resources, local media reported.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a business gathering on Friday that US President Donald Trump’s threat to annex Canada “is a real thing,” two Canadian business leaders who were at the meeting confirmed to CNN.

Trump had suggested repeatedly, both in posts on his social media platform Truth Social and in remarks to reporters, that Canada could become a US state instead to avoid the tariffs. He has also referred to the country's prime minister as "Governor Trudeau".