Carney recalls Trump’s joke about White House key gift

Prime Minister Mark Carney recalled a joking exchange with U.S. President Donald Trump about a White House key during a Canada Investment Summit fireside chat Tuesday, as trade tensions between the two countries remain high.

Deborah K. Orida, president and chief executive officer of Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments), asked Carney about two keys he had mentioned previously. He first described receiving a key to his hometown of Fort Smith in the Northwest Territories while serving as governor of the Bank of Canada. Carney said residents do not lock their doors in Fort Smith, but called the gesture a nice and emotional moment.

He then contrasted it with a spring 2025 White House meeting in Washington. Mimicking Trump’s gestures, Carney said the president presented him with a large gold key and explained that it was a key to the White House. According to Carney, Trump said he could bring it and be allowed in, then joked that “maybe they’ll shoot you.”

Carney said the exchange summed up the relationship between Canada and the United States: in Canada, a key means someone is welcome inside, while in the United States, “they might shoot you.” He said he has both keys and thanked Trump for what he described as a good gesture and hospitality. Carney later clarified jokingly that someone given a key to Canada would be welcomed, not shot.

The Canada Investment Summit is part of Carney’s effort to attract billions of dollars in capital and pursue a goal of attracting $1 trillion in investment over the next five years. At the summit opening Monday, Carney did not directly address the trade war but cited Bell’s planned major data-centre expansion in Saskatchewan as the kind of investment needed to shift Canada’s economy toward growth.

Speaking at the Fairmont Royal York in downtown Toronto, Carney said Canadians want to move ahead, build, control their future, remain positive and come together.

Canada-U.S. trade relations have worsened since Trump began imposing steep tariffs on broad categories of Canadian goods soon after taking office in early 2025. Trade talks collapsed last month after Carney rejected demands he said would restrict Canadian sovereignty. Washington then imposed 50 per cent tariffs on about $20 billion in Canadian goods, while Ottawa imposed dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs on $27.6 billion in American goods as of Sept. 8. The United States has since announced further restrictions on Canadian products.

The summit, held in partnership with CPP Investments and PSP Investments, was scheduled to conclude Tuesday with closing remarks from former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper.