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.

After threatening Canada with tariffs and urging it to become America's 51st state, Trump's attacks have spurred a wave of Canadian pride.

Donald Trump has securing Canada's resource wealth on his mind, and "one of the easiest ways of doing that is absorbing our country. And it is a real thing.”