As tensions remain high between the U.S. and Canada amid a contentious trade war, Prime Minister Mark Carney summed up the currently fraught relationship between the two neighbours in a lighthearted moment during a fireside chat at the Canada Investment Summit on Tuesday.
Hosting the chat, Deborah K. Orida, President and CEO of Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP investments), asked Carney about “two keys” he had mentioned in a previous conversation.
Carney took the cue to talk about his time as Governor of the Bank of Canada when he received a key to the city of Fort Smith, his home town in the Northwest Territories.
“Now they don’t lock their doors in Fort Smith so I’m not sure what the advantage of it is,” he joked. “But it was very nice… it was an emotional moment.”
He then contrasted the moment with one he had after a meeting with President Trump during a visit to the White House in Washington in the spring of 2025.
Carney, gesticulating in Trump’s signature style, explained that the President said “Mark I want to give you something really special.”
“So special Mark, so special,” said Carney, once again moving his palms inwards and out in a gesture that is unmistakably Trumpian, which elicited a big laugh from Orida and the audience.
“I opened this box and it’s this big gold key. I was like ‘wow Mr. President, that’s fantastic.’ He’s like ‘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,’” he said followed by a big laugh.
“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 joked adding “It was very nice, I have them both and I’m very grateful – Donald if you’re listening – I am very grateful, it was a very good gesture. He’s a very good host.”
After he wrapped up the story, Carney once again added jokingly “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,” which elicited more laughter from the audience.
The Canada Investment Summit is Carney’s attempt at attracting billions of dollars in capital to Canada and court the world’s investors as part of his lofty goal to attract $1 trillion in investments over the next five years.
While Carney did not directly address the ongoing trade war with the U.S. while opening the summit on Monday, he spoke of large investment’s like the one Bell is making in Saskatchewan for a massive data centre expansion as the kind of infusion Canada needs to pivot the economy to growth.
“The tone of Canadians is, let’s get on with it. Let’s build. Let’s control our future. Let’s be positive. Let’s come together. This is a fantastic example of that,” Carney said during the announcement at the Fairmont Royal York in downtown Toronto.
Trade relations have deteriorated between Canada and the U.S. since Trump began imposing punishing tariffs on large swaths of Canadian goods soon after he took office in early 2025.
Last month, trade talks between the two neighbouring countries collapsed as Carney refused to give in to demands that he said would result in restrictions on Canadian sovereignty.
Washington then imposed 50 per cent tariffs on approximately $20 billion in Canadian goods, with Ottawa imposing dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs on $27.6 billion worth of American goods as of Sept. 8. The U.S. has since announced additional restrictions on Canadian products.
The Canada Investment Summit, held in partnership with CPP Investments and PSP Investments, will wrap up on Tuesday with closing remarks from former conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
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