Farm Credit CEO told staff to cut costs while billing taxpayers $422K in expenses
Access to information records show Farm Credit Canada CEO Justine Hendricks racked up more than $422,000 in expenses over three years, including business-class flights, luxury hotels, steak dinners and a $543 Uber ride, even as she told employees to "tighten the belt" due to travel being "super expensive."
The $458,000-a-year chief executive of Crown lender Farm Credit Canada billed taxpayers more than $182,000 in expenses last year, nearly four times the amount claimed by her predecessor, according to records obtained through an access to information request.
CEO Justine Hendricks expensed $182,297 in 2025, compared with $47,129 claimed by the previous CEO in his final year in the role.
$458k/yr CEO who told @FCCAgriculture staff to "tighten the belt" quadrupled expenses including Filet Mignon steak dinners biz-class flights to Singapore & $543 Uber ride from Edmonton to Calgary. https://t.co/ypiUHB2mLY @CornwallHeath pic.twitter.com/iN9VsRvpGE
— Blacklock's Reporter (@mindingottawa) July 2, 2026
The records, first reported by Blacklock's Reporter, detail a string of high-end hotels, business-class flights, steak dinners and a $543 Uber ride between Edmonton and Calgary.
An internal email obtained through the records reminded managers that expenses must be "necessary and cost effective" and able to "withstand public, media or stakeholder scrutiny."
Hendricks, who was appointed CEO in January 2023 despite having no direct agricultural background, has accumulated more than $422,700 in expenses over her first three years leading the Regina-based Crown corporation.
The documents show she billed business-class flights to destinations including Amsterdam, Dusseldorf, Madrid and Singapore. Hotel stays included Toronto's Royal York, the Montréal Sheraton, Halifax Marriott Harbourfront, Banff Springs Hotel and a Toronto Residence Inn charging up to $700 a night.
Records also show repeated claims for filet mignon dinners at a Regina steakhouse and an unexplained $67 charge described as "olives and popcorn."
One of the most unusual expenses came on April 30, 2025, when Hendricks used Uber for a 309-kilometre trip from Edmonton to Calgary, billing the Crown corporation $543, including a $109 "out of region" surcharge.
Internal correspondence also questioned a 2025 incident in which Hendricks allegedly retained a company rental car for personal use over a weekend in Kitchener, Ont.
During staff meetings and videoconferences, she repeatedly urged workers to curb travel spending.
"You have got to tighten the belt on this stuff," Hendricks told employees last October, describing travel as "super expensive."
Sheila Gunn Reid
Chief Reporter
Sheila Gunn Reid is the Editor-in-Chief, Alberta Bureau Chief, member of the board of directors, and host of The Gunn Show at Rebel News. Sheila also serves as President of the Independent Press Gallery of Canada. A mother of three and longtime conservative activist, Sheila is the author of bestselling books, including her most recent release, Independence Blueprint: What Alberta Can Learn From Quebec.
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