The prime minister’s family vacation to Jamaica over the New Year cost taxpayers nearly $160,000, according to documents obtained by the National Post, including just under $14,000 in support costs from the Privy Council Office.
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In response to an order document question put forward by Conservative Party MP Luc Berthold, a week-long holiday at an undisclosed resort in the Caribbean nation cost $159,066.91 in airfare, accommodation and security.
While Prime Ministers are expected to pay for the holiday out of pocket and reimburse equivalent airfare costs, the trip resulted in security costs of $115,526 through the RCMP Family Protection Service, $29,951.92 in transportation and crew costs from the Department of National Defense ( DND, ) and $13,588.99 from the Office of the Privy Council.
The Prime Minister and his family departed Ottawa for Jamaica on December 26 aboard a Royal Canadian Air Force Challenger 650 airliner operated by the 412 Transport Squadron.
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“According to long-standing government policy and for security reasons, the prime minister is required to travel on government aircraft, whether for official or personal business,” DND wrote in its statement in response to the question in the Order Document.
“As has been the case with previous Prime Ministers, when traveling for personal reasons, the Prime Minister and all guests traveling with him will reimburse an equivalent commercial air ticket.”
The $29,951.92 claimed by the DND includes $3,685.05 in travel expenses for the four crew members of the aircraft and $40.20 in other expenses, which appear as currency exchange and ground transportation expenses.
“Meal allowances were lost for the majority of the mission, as most of the meals were provided by the hotel,” the response read.
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Protecting the PM and his family during the trip cost the RCMP $115,526, a figure that includes $114,813 in travel costs and $713 in overtime and shift bonuses.
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This number does not include the regular salary of members of the protective service or the costs of support units, the response states.
The trip also cost $13,588.99 through the Privy Council Office (PCO) which is listed as “full costs for the PCO’s support role for the trip.”
This figure includes $4,642.68 in lodging, $2,505.21 in travel expenses and $6,441.10 in other expenses.
While the BCP’s exact role during the trip was not specified in the documents, it did mention that a member of the office’s tour group branch had been sent to establish secure communications for the prime minister.
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The airfare for this employee was $3,270.12, an amount included in the lodging expense of $4,642.68 above.
Privy Council Office spokesman Pierre-Alain Bujold said that no matter his hours or location, the prime minister should always be able to carry out his governmental duties.
“Support to the Prime Minister includes the creation of a temporary secure office providing secure communications capabilities and IT connectivity, which requires a PCO resource to set up and support the technology,” it said.
“Travel to and from Jamaica required the movement of a PCO resource prior to the Prime Minister’s arrival so that secure communications could be set up, tested and fully operational.”
This temporary office space, he explained, allows the prime minister to receive classified briefings or engage in secure conversations, when necessary.
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Neither DND, RCMP nor the Privy Council Office responded to questions about where the prime minister was staying in Jamaica, citing security concerns.
That number includes a 3,000-mile cross-country flight just to spend six hours attending the Calgary Stampede.
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That’s more than the 26,059km the prime minister traveled during the summer of 2021, a tally that included two flights abroad to attend summits in the UK and Belgium.
“In accordance with long-standing government policy and for security reasons, the prime minister is required to travel on government aircraft, whether on official or personal travel,” read a statement sent to the National Post by CPM.
“As you know, as has been the case with previous prime ministers, when traveling for personal reasons, the prime minister, his family, and any guests traveling with him will reimburse an equivalent economy fare.”
Many other countries do not share Canada’s policy of preventing the Prime Minister from flying for business purposes.
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At the same time that the Prime Minister was on vacation in Costa Rica last August, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie boarded a commercial flight for their honeymoon in Slovenia.
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Peter Graefe, an associate professor of political science at McMaster University, said the challenge was weighing the cost savings against the security and political implications.
“It’s a bit of a catch-22,” he said.
“You save money on the flight and you don’t have the problem of Canadian military equipment being misused, but on the other hand, as we’ve seen here, most of the cost of vacations for Canadians is having to send security.”
While he acknowledges that other world leaders like Johnson often fly for business purposes, we don’t know how many protection officers accompanied that trip.
“You’re probably increasing your costs because you can’t control the security situation in the same way,” he said.
“Optically, politicians would rather not take these Canadian Forces planes because being seen sitting in economy probably plays better.”
