diff --git a/test/runner/lib/core_ci.py b/test/runner/lib/core_ci.py
index c93dc4124a..a273d8a6de 100644
--- a/test/runner/lib/core_ci.py
+++ b/test/runner/lib/core_ci.py
@@ -115,12 +115,11 @@ class AnsibleCoreCI(object):
                 region = 'us-east-1'
 
             self.endpoints = AWS_ENDPOINTS[region],
+            self.ssh_key = SshKey(args)
 
             if self.platform == 'windows':
-                self.ssh_key = None
                 self.port = 5986
             else:
-                self.ssh_key = SshKey(args)
                 self.port = 22
         elif self.provider == 'parallels':
             self.endpoints = self._get_parallels_endpoints()