Trudeau's Christmas holiday to Jamaica cost taxpayers $228,000

By far the largest expenditure came from the RCMP, which spent $160,000 providing security to the prime minister and his family, who joined him for the sunny getaway from Canada's cold winter.

Trudeau's Christmas holiday to Jamaica cost taxpayers $228,000
The Canadian Press / Jacques Boissinot
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Expenses surrounding Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's “no cost” trip to Jamaica over the 2023 Christmas holidays are in, detailed in a federal government response to an inquiry of ministry.

Conservative MP Andrew Scheer filed an order paper question regarding the expenditures incurred by the government relating to Trudeau's trip.

In the response from the Department of Defence, it was revealed that a five person flight crew from the Royal Canadian Air Force cost $16,100 in accommodations for the trip.

Records also showed that Trudeau and his entourage travelled aboard two separate flights, accruing nearly $42,000 in fuel costs while travelling to and from the Caribbean island.

The Privy Council, meanwhile, spent more than $10,000 in accommodation, transportation and meals.

But the largest expenditure by far came from the RCMP, which spent $160,000 providing security to the prime minister and his family, who joined him for the sunny getaway from Canada's cold winter. The hefty sum included meals, travel and accommodation as well, in addition to fulfilling the RCMP's mandate to provide round-the-clock protection to the prime minister and his family.

Before setting off from Ottawa on Boxing Day, the Prime Minister's Office claimed it consulted with the ethics commissioner and said the Trudeau family would pay for their stay and reimburse the public for the costs associated with flying on a government jet.

That message changed shortly after the New Year, however.

“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office is clarifying that he and his family are vacationing in Jamaica ‘at no cost at a location owned by family friends,’ after initially saying the family was paying for their stay,” CBC reported on January 3.

The costs connected to the Trudeaus' travels are similar to the amount they spent visiting Jamaica over the 2022–2023 New Year, as Rebel News previously reported. A similar 2019 trip to Costa Rica also cost taxpayers $200,000.

The prime minister found himself in hot water in the past for his vacations, when former ethics commissioner Mary Dawson determined Trudeau's trip to a private island in the Bahamas owned by the Aga Khan breached rules surrounding government officials accepting gifts from those who could be perceived to be trying to influence government decisions.

Click here to see the order paper question and the government's response if it doesn't load below:

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