FLASHBACK: Trudeau gov’t blew $52K on Bryan Adams' celebrity photo exhibit—featuring Trudeau
The exhibition, titled 'The Canadians,' featured black-and-white portraits of notable figures, including a large photograph of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself.
At our new website, ExposeTheWaste.com, we shine a light on the government's reckless spending of your hard-earned tax dollars on vanity projects and DEI nonsense.
Today, we're looking back at a particularly egregious example uncovered by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF), involving the Trudeau government's lavish expenditure on a millionaire rock star's photography exhibit.
In 2017, the Trudeau government allocated nearly $52,000 of taxpayer money to fund a red-carpet event at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto, celebrating the photographic work of Canadian rock star Bryan Adams.
That's the same Bryan Adams who terrorized the ears of the world with his song from the soundtrack of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves for about 17 straight weeks in 1991.
The exhibition, titled 'The Canadians,' featured black-and-white portraits of notable figures, including a large photograph of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself.
The image shows Trudeau half-turned towards the camera, dressed in suit pants and a white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His portrait was displayed alongside those of other prominent Canadians such as The Weeknd, Joni Mitchell, Wayne Gretzky, and even the Queen.
According to Stuart Savage of Global Affairs Canada, the Mission Cultural Fund's (MCF) mandate is to 'promote Canadian culture and creativity on the world stage.' However, this lavish event was held in Toronto, not abroad.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation uncovered these details, highlighting the government's misplaced priorities and blatant misuse of taxpayer funds. While Canadians are working hard to make ends meet, the Trudeau government is busy sponsoring vanity projects for the wealthy and well-connected.

Sheila Gunn Reid
Chief Reporter
Sheila Gunn Reid is the Alberta Bureau Chief for Rebel News and host of the weekly The Gunn Show with Sheila Gunn Reid. She's a mother of three, conservative activist, and the author of best-selling books including Stop Notley.

COMMENTS
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Bruce Atchison commented 2025-02-10 21:15:45 -0500I remember “Voice of Fire” and the outrage in 1990 when Arts Canada bought it for $1.2-million. Now we’ve wasted more money on photos by some rich rock star. We must have a Ministry Of Government Efficiency to rid us of such stupid squandering of OUR money.
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Bernhard Jatzezck commented 2025-02-10 20:38:23 -0500Oh, why not? If the government can pay millions for a “painting” that was little more than a coloured stripe over top of a background of a different hue, it can afford to fork over money for this.