Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in a talk with business leaders, said Canada’s wealth of critical minerals are behind Mr. Trump’s comments about making its northern neighbor a U.S. state.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday that Canada must think “tactically and strategically” on how to deal with U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to impose hefty tariffs on all Canadian imports.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tells business leaders at the Canada-U.S. Economic Summit in Toronto that U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to annex Canada 'is a real thing.'

TORONTO - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday said U.S. President Donald Trump's talk about absorbing Canada \"is a real thing\" and is linked to the country's rich natural resources, a government source said.

Donald Trump is not joking when he says he'd like to make Canada the 51st state, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday, adding that the U.S. president's annexation plans are related to Canada's supply of critical minerals.

Trudeau told business and labor leaders that he didn’t believe Trump was joking about wanting to annex Canada, citing the country’s minerals and energy resources.

President Donald Trump’s talk about absorbing Canada “is a real thing” and is linked to the country’s rich natural resources, the prime minister said.

The Council on Canada-U.S. Relations will hold a summit in Toronto on Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement on Wednesday after a 30-day pause on the Trump administration's proposed tariffs went into effect this week.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will host a Canada-U.S. economic summit in Toronto on Friday, days after President Donald Trump said he would hold off on deploying his threatened tariffs against Canada for a month.