PM Carney jokes about Trump's White House key gift at Canada Investment Summit in Toronto

Prime Minister Mark Carney recounted a lighthearted exchange with President Trump during a fireside chat Tuesday at the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto, hosted by Deborah K. Orida, President and CEO of Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP investments).

Carney received the story in response to Orida raising "two keys" Carney had previously mentioned. The PM first recalled receiving a key to the city of Fort Smith, his home town in the Northwest Territories, when he was Governor of the Bank of Canada. "Now they don't lock their doors in Fort Smith so I'm not sure what the advantage of it is. But it was very nice… it was an emotional moment," Carney said.

He then described meeting Trump at the White House in spring 2025. Trump gave him a gold key to the White House, saying "Mark I want to give you something really special. So special Mark, so special." Carney recalled Trump's follow-up: "yeah it's a key to the White House. You just bring it, they'll let you in and then he says 'maybe they'll shoot you.'" Carney used Trump-style gestures while telling the story.

"And that sort of sums up the relationship that we have. And that's kind of Canada and the U.S. – Canada you get the key, you're in and the U.S. – they might shoot you," Carney said. He later added, "just to be clear, if we give you a key to Canada, we're not going to shoot you, we're going to welcome you."

Bell is making an investment in Saskatchewan for a massive data centre expansion, which Carney cited as an example of the infusion Canada needs to pivot its economy toward growth. Carney made his announcement at Fairmont Royal York in downtown Toronto.