Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has revealed an unusual gift he received from US President Donald Trump in 2015 — a large gold key that Trump told him could be used to enter the White House. But there was a catch, delivered with a joke: “Maybe they’ll shoot you.”Carney recounted the exchange on Tuesday while speaking at the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto. He said the gift was presented to him when he met Trump at the White House in May 2025.According to Carney, Trump handed him a box containing what he described as a “big gold key” and told him it was a key to the White House.“You just bring it, they’ll let you in,” Carney recalled Trump telling him. Trump then added: “Maybe they’ll shoot you.”The remark drew laughter from the audience. Carney said the exchange captured something about the complicated relationship between the two neighbouring countries.“That sort of sums up the relationship that we have,” he said, later adding that he was only joking about the possibility of being shot.Carney also described the gift as a generous gesture, addressing Trump directly during the event. “Donald, if you’re listening, I am very grateful. It’s a very good gesture. He’s a very good host,” he said.The Canadian prime minister then contrasted the joke with the way visitors would be treated in Canada.“If you’re given a key to Canada, we’re going to welcome you,” Carney said.The anecdote comes at a particularly tense time in US-Canada relations. Washington and Ottawa are engaged in a trade dispute, with negotiations having broken down and the US imposing additional restrictions on some Canadian products. Canada has also been seeking to diversify its economic relationships and reduce its dependence on the US.Carney used the Toronto summit to pitch Canada as a destination for international investment, telling global investors that the country could emerge from the trade conflict with the US as a stronger and more independent economy. He is also pursuing closer economic and strategic ties with Europe as Canada looks to broaden its international partnerships.
Ceremonial keys to the White House
Trump has been giving ceremonial keys to the White House for year, including during his previous term. He told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the same thing he told Carney: The key was essentially good forever.“Even when I’m not president anymore, you can walk up to the front gate of the White House and present it, and they will let you in,” he told Netanyahu, according to a 2022 book by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law. Trump even gifted White House keys to visitors when he wasn’t president, including former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, during a 2024 meeting at Trump Tower in New York.
