Trudeau’s summer air travel caused $200,000 in environmental damage: report

Alex Dhaliwal
  |   September 24, 2024   |   Be the first to comment

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flew more during the 2024 summer months than the first six months combined, The National Post revealed. The summer air travel imposed nearly $200,000 in environmental damage, according to estimates from his own government.

For 2024, the Government of Canada determined the “social cost” of a tonne of carbon dioxide was $266. That puts the cost of Trudeau’s air travel this summer at $191,500.

He flew 92,100 kilometres on government aircraft from June 1 through September 12. Among them was a July 21 flight to Tofino, B.C. for a summer vacation.

Just before the Commons broke for summer recess, Health Minister Mark Holland told Parliament that road trips would burn the planet as he responded to criticism from Conservative MPs alleging the carbon tax harmed families financially.

“You can take a summer of fun time vacation where you’re locked in a car for ten consecutive days nonstop with no bathroom breaks … and the cost? Give up the future of the planet … enjoy your ten hours in the car and let the planet burn,” Holland blasted.

Trudeau has logged 181,950 kilometres across 68 flights so far this year, mainly aboard a Bombardier Challenger 650 business jet that burns 1,172 litres of fuel every hour it’s in the air.

The prime minister has spent roughly 88 hours in the Challenger, and 31 hours in the Polaris, putting total fuel consumption at 285,000 litres of jet fuel, reported The Post.  The latter burns roughly 5,860 litres of fuel per hour. 

The combustion of 285,000 litres of jet fuel would produce just over 720 tonnes of carbon dioxide, found the International Air Transport Association. That’s equivalent to the annual emissions of 117 typical Canadians.

Department of Environment polling revealed Canadians would fly less rather than pay a green surtax on air tickets. The research did not reference frequent travel by elected officials.

“The department wanted to measure the public opinion of Canadians on a wide variety of issues,” said an Omnibus Public Opinion Research Survey by Angus Reid Group. Staff use this information to predict future behaviour, it said.

Most Canadians surveyed did not book any air travel in the past year. Of those who did, 55% said they were vacationing or “visiting family or friends,” reported Blacklock’s Reporter who found most respondents opposed the idea of paying a green surtax. 

The questionnaire did not clarify if cabinet fulfilled a 2023 promise to reduce air travel by “roughly 15 percent.” 

Trudeau has taken 680 "personal" days since 2015, most of which were family vacations abroad, including 31 days in Costa Rica, another nine days in Jamaica, and eight days in the Bahamas, where he breached conflict-of-interest rules by visiting Aga Khan’s private island. 

In another instance, Trudeau flew from Ottawa to a Florida vacation, returned for a single day of meetings, and flew back to complete his vacation. 

In 2021, Trudeau travelled from Victoria to Montreal for a single-budget photo op and immediately returned for a vacation in Whistler.

“While the Liberals were busy saying Canadians who take their families on road trips and summer vacations are guilty of burning down the world, the Liberals were racking up thousands of kilometres of jet-setting carbon hypocrisy,” Deputy Conservative Leader Melissa Lantsman told The Toronto Sun.

She clarified that a Conservative government would “demonstrate respect” for government travel.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) earlier said it publishes the itineraries “in the spirit of openness and transparency,” which Trudeau’s predecessor did not do, they noted. Staff iterated he works on “personal” days.

Alex Dhaliwal

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