The Key to the City is a symbol of the Freedom of the City presented by a town or city's municipal government to esteemed residents or visitors whom the city wishes to honour. The award, usually an ornamental key, is generally presented by the mayor or some other public figure at an award ceremony. Some cities allow visiting celebrities to request that a key be granted to them, a practice which has resulted in some controversy.

Alberta

Calgary The local equivalent is the White Hat ceremony, which was begun in the 1950s by Mayor Donald Hugh MacKay. The first white felt cowboy hat was given to the Mayor of Toronto, Hiram E. McCallum, as thanks for his hosting during the 36th Grey Cup (1948). The honour can be requested through Tourism Calgary; white hatting ceremonies are also conducted for individual tourists and groups by a volunteer corps at the Calgary International Airport. Past recipients include: 1969: Karol Wojtyła, Archbishop of Kraków (later elected Pope John Paul II) 1969: Prince Philip 1977: Prince Charles and Prince Andrew July 9, 2001: Ralph Goodale, Minister of Natural Resources from 1997 to 2002, and Ernesto Martens, Mexico's Secretary of Energy June 27, 2002: The eight world leaders attending the 28th G8 summit – Tony Blair, Jacques Chirac, Vladimir Putin, Gerhard Schröder, Silvio Berlusconi, Junichiro Koizumi, Jean Chrétien, and George W. Bush February 28, 2003: Phil McGraw, as "Dr. Phil" March 16, 2005: Dave Bautista and Chris Benoit, WWE wrestlers June 4, 2006: Prince Edward July 25, 2008: Ozzy Osbourne, rock performer, and Sharon Osbourne, music producer July 2009: David Petraeus, U.S. General September 30, 2009: Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama October 13, 2009: David Jacobson, U.S. Ambassador to Canada December 4, 2009: Tommy Chong May 13, 2010: Princess Margriet of the Netherlands June 19, 2011: William Shatner, Canadian actor, musician, singer, author, film director, spokesman and comedian July 7, 2011: Prince William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge November 3, 2012: Tommy Tallarico, creator of Video Games Live, Laura Intravia, singer-flutist, and Christopher Tin, composer September 24, 2015: Trooper, Canadian rock band

Other recipients include Kevin Costner, Robert Duvall, Luciano Pavarotti, and Oprah Winfrey.

Edmonton August 27, 1989: Wayne Gretzky, hockey player

Lethbridge

August 4, 2015: Kris Versteeg, hockey player May 9, 2017: Tyler Wong, captain of the Lethbridge Hurricanes December 10, 2024: Sayeh Zielke, cardiologist

British Columbia Municipalities in British Columbia grant the freedom of the city, rather than a key, to individuals worthy of recognition. In accordance with Section 158 of the Community Charter,Division 7, Section 158 of the Community Charter of British Columbia. potential recipients must receive the unanimous support of the city council before they are granted the Freedom, which is then usually bestowed upon them during a special ceremony.

In the following list, where the date of the award ceremony is unknown, the date of the council resolution is given instead. These dates are marked with (res.).

Burnaby June 14, 1968: George Pearkes, 20th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia April 14, 1978: Bob Prittie, mayor of Burnaby April 3, 1987: Eileen Dailly, deputy premier and Minister of Education April 6, 1990: James Gibson Lorimer, politician June 14, 2010: Michael J. Fox, actor

Source: City of Burnaby

City of North Vancouver March 21, 1966 (res.): George Pearkes, 20th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia September 13, 1966 (res.): Jack Loutet, mayor of North Vancouver March 4, 1968 (res.): Nancy Greene, alpine skier January 18, 1971 (res.): John Henry Cates, Canadian MLA, and his wife, Carrie, a former mayor April 8, 2002 (res.): Ray Perrault, senator June 14, 2010: Lauren Woolstencroft, paralympic skier

Comox August 16, 2017: John Marinus, Comox town councillor

Coquitlam Fern Bouvier Sandy Burpee Don Cunnings Reverend John Davies Dorothy Fleming Larry Fleming Rene Gamache Dr. J. Crosby Johnston Jean Lambert Robert McNary Eunice Parker Leonore Peyton

Source: City of Coquitlam

District of North Vancouver March 3, 1973: Karen Magnussen, world figure skating champion June 9, 2008: Don Bell, mayor

Kelowna December 8, 1952: W. A. C. Bennett, 25th premier of British Columbia

Oliver September 15, 2017: Clarence Louie chief of the Osoyoos Indian Band

Vancouver Unless otherwise specified, the source of the items on this list is the City of Vancouver's website.

June 28, 1933: Jimmy McLarnin, police officer August 28, 1936: Edward Wentworth Beatty, president of the Canadian Pacific Railway April 11, 1938: Lauchlan Alexander Hamilton, civil engineer and Alderman January 4, 1939 (res.): R. B. Bennett, 11th prime minister of Canada June 30, 1941 (res.): William Lyon Mackenzie King, 10th prime minister of Canada September 29, 1941 (res.): Eric Hamber, 15th lieutenant governor of British Columbia January 2, 1946 (res.): Harry Crerar, military general December 23, 1946 (res.): William Culham Woodward, 16th lieutenant governor of British Columbia March 17, 1947 (res.): William Harold Malkin, 21st mayor of Vancouver November 3, 1949: Jawaharlal Nehru, prime minister of India December 1, 1952 (res.): George Clark Miller, 23rd mayor of Vancouver November 16, 1953 (res.): J. S. Matthews, archivist and historian December 17, 1963 (res.): Jonathan Webster Cornett, 25th mayor of Vancouver December 17, 1963 (res.): George T. Cunningham, founder of the pharmacy chain Cunningham's December 30, 1963 (res.): Frederick Hume, 28th mayor of Vancouver December 29, 1964 (res.): Charles Edwin Thompson, 27th mayor of Vancouver December 29, 1964 (res.): Henry Herbert Stevens, politician and businessman February 17, 1965 (res.): W. A. C. Bennett, premier of British Columbia December 29, 1965 (res.): Arnold Webster, politician December 20, 1966 (res.): H. R. MacMillan, chair of the Vancouver Board of Trade January 16, 1968 (res.): Frank Mackenzie Ross, 19th lieutenant governor of British Columbia August 27, 1968 (res.): George Pearkes, 20th lieutenant governor of British Columbia October 1, 1968 (res.): William Mark Duke, Archbishop of Vancouver December 17, 1968 (res.): Clarence Wallace, 18th lieutenant governor of British Columbia December 16, 1970 (res.): Prentice Bloedel, creator of the Bloedel Reserve January 11, 1972 (res.): Howard Charles Green, politician January 11, 1972 (res.): Whitford Julian VanDusen, businessman and philanthropist April 10, 1973 (res.): Harold Edward Winch, politician and Leader of the Opposition July 23, 1974 (res.): Grace MacInnis, politician August 27, 1974 (res.): Arthur Laing, leader of the British Columbia Liberal Party December 17, 1976 (res.): John Robert Nicholson, 21st lieutenant governor of British Columbia March 14, 1978 (res.): Jean Coulthard, composer April 24, 1979 (res.): Jack Diamond, businessman and philanthropist June 11, 1985 (res.): John Lecky, Olympic rower January 7, 1986 (res.): Henry Pybus Bell-Irving, 23rd lieutenant governor of British Columbia January 7, 1986 (res.): Walter Koerner, businessman and philanthropist March 24, 1987 (res.): Rick Hansen, paralympian April 29, 1988: Cecil Howard Green, geophysicist and Texas Instruments founder July 12, 1988 (res.): Nathaniel Nemetz, lawyer and judge February 4, 1989: Jack Shadbolt, artist June 16, 1992 (res.): Thomas R. Berger, politician and jurist September 2, 1993 (res.): The Vancouver Foundation September 28, 1993 (res.): David Lam, 25th lieutenant governor of British Columbia April 12, 1994: George Woodcock, author and critic May 28, 2002 (res.): Arthur Erickson, architect November 5, 2002 (res.): Kim Campbell, 19th prime minister of Canada October 6, 2005 (res.): Dal Richards, musician July 6, 2010: Art Phillips, 32nd mayor of Vancouver February 23, 2011: Jim Green, councillor July 12, 2011: Milton Wong, businessman and philanthropist October 30, 2015: Dr. David Suzuki, academic, science broadcaster, and environmental activist November 8, 2016: Margaret Mitchell, member of parliament for Vancouver East February 28, 2017: Michael Harcourt, mayor of Vancouver and premier of British Columbia

Victoria March 9, 1927: Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 13th governor general of Canada June 19, 1928: Robert Pim Butchart, founder of Butchart Gardens February 5, 1959: Frank Mackenzie Ross, 19th lieutenant Governor of British Columbia November 19, 1965: George Pearkes, 20th lieutenant governor of British Columbia October 13, 1966: Robert Mayhew, businessman and politician October 15, 1970: W. A. C. Bennett, premier of British Columbia

West Vancouver May 31, 1990 (res.): Pierre Savard, mayor of Verdun September 8, 2003 (res.): Allan Williams, attorney general of British Columbia October 5, 2009: Gordon A. Smith, artist

Manitoba

Thompson 2025: Alice Lavoie, business owner

Winnipeg Foster Hewitt, radio broadcaster for Hockey Night in Canada 2002: Shannen Doherty, actress 2002: Shirley MacLaine, actress 2004: Chris Jericho, professional wrestler and singer August 24, 2007: Milt Stegall, football player for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers December 3, 2008: Bob Geldof, musician-activist March 14, 2010: Jon Montgomery, Olympian March 28, 2010: Henry Winkler, actor July 11, 2010: Jonathan Toews, hockey player June 15, 2011: Gene Simmons, musician September 12, 2011: Steve Nash, basketball player October 19, 2012: Twyla Tharp, choreographer August 12, 2013: Paul McCartney, musician October 21, 2016: Teemu Selanne, NHL Player July 12, 2025: Bruce Cockburn, musician

New Brunswick

Saint John May 18, 1933: R. B. Bennett, 11th prime minister of Canada

Newfoundland and Labrador

St. John's St. John's awards the Freedom of the City rather than a Key.

May 22, 1968: Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein October 10, 1970: Irish Ambassador Joseph Shields, Alderman D.C. MacLean, Provost of Ayr, Scotland, Alan O. Will of Bristol, England, Henry G.R. Mews August 31, 1977: Andrew Crosbie September 11, 1997: Paul Johnson May 28, 2000: Drum Major William Tilley, Major Walter Learning, Colonel Adrian Heffernan May 12, 2001: World Junior Championship Curling Team (Brad Gushue, Mark Nichols, Brent Hamilton, Mike Adam, Jamie Korab, Jeff Thomas) November 15, 2004: Dr. Paul O'Neill September 30, 2008: Dr. Nigel Rusted June 24, 2010: John J. Murphy May 19, 2016: Elinor Gill Ratcliffe, philanthropist March 12, 2018: Shannie Duff, 12th mayor of St. John's November 22, 2021: Rotary Clubs of St. John's

Source: City of St. John's

Ontario

Brampton January 18, 1999: Michael Collins July 31, 2011: Tyler Seguin, hockey player, following his Stanley Cup win September 11, 2011: Akshay Kumar September 11, 2011: Russell Peters June 17, 2013: George "Potsy" Burrows, war veteran and Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee July 1, 2013: Anthony Bennett, basketball player, after being drafted first overall in the 2013 NBA draft August 26, 2016: Tristan Thompson, basketball player December 20, 2017: Jonathan Osorio, soccer player November 25, 2019: William G. Davis, premier of Ontario December 20, 2021: Henry Verschuren June 6, 2022: Ogiame Atuwatse III April 18, 2023: Gurbax Malhi, member of Parliament February 27, 2024: Marc Andrews, deputy chief of police December 2025: Annie Bynoe, founder of local food bank

Source: City of Brampton

Burlington

January 2019: Mike 'Beard Guy' Taylor October 2019: City of Itabashi, Japan January 2020: Gordon Schottlander December 2020: Kendall Cooper December 2020: Ian Elliott October 2021: Jean Longfield October 2021: Lisa Lunski March 2022: Renata Fast March 2022: Emma Maltais July 2022: Burlington Teen Tour Band May 2023: City of Apeldoorn, The Netherlands July 2023: Beverly Kingdon June 2024: Spoons June 2024: Dan Lawrie April 16, 2025: Sarah Harmer, musician