According to a recent report about a closed-door meeting, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was captured on a hot mic saying President Trump’s talk about annexing Canada is “a real thing.”

The report comes from the Canadian public broadcaster CBC, which shared that Trudeau made his comments while speaking in a closed-door session that featured business and labor leaders in the country. However, the remarks were mistakenly carried by a loudspeaker, according to the report.

Trudeau shared during the secession that Trump is serious about making Canada the 51st state of the U.S. because of the country’s critical minerals.

“Mr. Trump has it in mind that the easiest way to do it is absorbing our country, and it is a real thing. In my conversations with him on…,” Trudeau said before the microphone cut out, according to CBC.

“They’re very aware of our resources, of what we have, and they very much want to be able to benefit from those,” Trudeau reportedly said.

In a post on social media, the president from the Alberta Federation of Labor, Gil McGowan, confirmed what Trudeau said in the report.

“Yes, I can confirm that Trudeau said his assessment is that what Trump really wants is not action on fentanyl or immigration or even the trade deficit, what he really wants is to either dominate Canada or take it outright,” McGowan wrote .

The concern from Trudeau comes as Trump continues to flirt publicly with the concept of taking over Canada, an idea he first posted about after winning back the White House.

During an interview on Saturday that aired Sunday, Trump shared with Fox News that he is serious about wanting Canada to join the United States, saying it’s a “real thing.”

“I think Canada would be much better off being the 51st state because we lose $200 billion a year with Canada. And I’m not going to let that happen,” he said. “Why are we paying $200 billion a year, essentially a subsidy to Canada?”

Experts have shared that Trump’s analysis of the relationship is a little far-stretched, as the trade gap in goods between the U.S. and Canada is closer to $72 billion, according to data from 2023. That deficit reflects America’s imports of Canadian energy, according to CBS News .