Canada's national war and history museums say they would have to conduct a review before they could display a personalized revolver and ammunition given to Prime Minister Mark Carney at this year's NATO summit in Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave each visiting NATO leader a handgun with their name engraved on it as a gift at the conclusion of the recent summit in Ankara.
Carney told reporters last week he thought the revolver could live somewhere like the Canadian War Museum.
"It's interesting and it relates to NATO and the bigger picture of that," he said. "We're going to find the best home for it."
The prime minister said last week the revolver was with the RCMP and, since it's not a legal handgun in Canada, it was rendered unable to fire. Global Affairs Canada said the ammunition was left behind in Turkey.
Avra Gibbs Lamey, a spokesperson for the Canadian War Museum and Canadian Museum of History, said the museums are aware of Carney's comments and appreciate his interest in preserving and sharing objects of historical significance.
She said there hasn't been a formal offer to donate the revolver yet and an official evaluation process hasn't started.
Lamey added that her team is working with the Prime Minister's Office to ensure the gun is "preserved appropriately."
Thida Ith, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, said that based on guidance from Canadian authorities, the government will look for an appropriate place for the gift, which could be a Canadian museum.
"We are not in a position to provide further details regarding a potential recipient institution or timing," said Ith.
Roy Norton, adjunct assistant professor of political science and public service at the University of Waterloo and former chief of protocol for Canada at Global Affairs Canada, said he doesn't expect to see the gun displayed in a museum.
"I think it'll end up in a vault in the basement at Global Affairs Canada, never to see the light of day," Norton said. "I would be awfully surprised if the war museum or any other Canadian museum would feature this item. It has no military or historical significance for Canada. It's kind of an oddity."
Prime ministers often get gifts that don't end up in on display in museums, he said, adding he doesn't remember any of Canada's leaders ever receiving a gun.
"It certainly didn't happen when I was chief of protocol and I am unaware of it ever having happened beforehand," he said. "It's kind of an unusual gift but it is a NATO summit."
Under Canada's conflict of interest rules, any gift worth more than $200 received by a politician must be publicly declared, while any gift worth more than $1,000 must be forfeited to the Crown.
A handout photo from the office of Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda shows the gun he received from Erdogan — a Gumusay .357 revolver with Nauseda's name engraved on the barrel and the Turkish crescent moon and star on the frame, with a small plaque on the grip that says "Ankara Summit."
A card in the gift box says this was the first type of revolver manufactured in Turkey in the 1990s and that the commemorative firearms were made by the Turkish firm MKE.
A spokesperson for Nauseda's office said his revolver is to be exhibited in the presidential palace, along with many other gifts given to the head of state.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
