OTTAWA - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday on his trip to Europe that US President Donald Trump's threatened annexation of Canada is "never going to happen," local media reported.

According to a CTV News report, Trudeau said Trump's repeated remarks about Canada becoming the 51st US state is a "non-starter."

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"It's never going to happen, but we have to take seriously what the president is saying and fold that into our thinking as we continue to stand up for Canada," the prime minister was quoted as saying.

Trudeau told business leaders at the Canada-US Economic Summit in Toronto on Friday that Trump's threatened annexation of Canada was a "real thing" motivated by his desire to tap into Canada's critical minerals.

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On Feb 1, the Trump administration announced its decision to impose tariffs on imports from Canada. Canada hit back with 25-percent tariffs on 155 billion Canadian dollars ($107 billion) worth of American goods. The tariffs were to be imposed earlier this week, but the United States and Canada paused their respective proposed tariffs for at least 30 days at the last minute.

Trump has said if Canada wants to avoid steep tariffs, it could become the 51st US state.